Neil Lennon has been gushing in his praise for new loan defender Diego Laxalt after he starred in Celtic’s 2-2 draw with Lille on Thursday night.
The Uruguayan was a constant thorn in the side of his opponents and made sure when he came for the ball, more often that not, he would win it.
The left-back has come in from Milan and has barely been able to take a breath since signing. After not playing in a while you can see him going through the gears; if Thursday night is any indication there’s still more to come from the left-back.
The Celtic manager was asked about his permanent availability, but after four games I don’t think either party will even be looking to discuss this right now.
Lenny revealed Diego’s English isn’t very good at present but he doesn’t need to give him a lot of pre-match prep, with the player knowing his position very well.
As Celtic get set to up their game and get back to winning ways, the defender could prove vital but the Celtic gaffer also made sure he let people know Greg Taylor will still be in the mix this season.
“He has been outstanding from the moment he came through the door.” Neil Lennon proclaimed to RecordSport.
“He doesn’t speak much English but you don’t have to tell him too much or give him too many instructions.
“He knows the game, he understands his position and when I watched him, I felt he’d add a lot of quality to our play.
“Diego has been an excellent addition, a superb asset to the squad.
“He’s very fit and he’s a great defender. He gives us good balance on the left.
“He’s aggressive in his play and in his passing. I’ve been absolutely delighted with him so far.
“He hasn’t been on a winning team yet so he’s getting a bit of stick about that from the boys.
“But his performances have been fantastic and he will only get better. He’s enjoying it here and we’re
enjoying him. He was brilliant against Lille, who are quality opposition.
“Could we keep him beyond his loan? It’s early days.
But listen, when you’ve got a player like that it will probably come down to having a discussion with him.
“He’s a player I’ve admired for a long time and he’s proven everything that I thought about him to be true.
“I watched him a lot and I have always liked his style.
“Going forward he gives us good pace and thrust – but he also likes to defend.
“His positioning and football intelligence are really high. I think we’ll see even more of him when he gets accustomed to the culture and the language.
“But so far he’s adapted brilliantly in the games.
“Greg will learn a lot from Diego and vice versa – hopefully they can bounce off each other.
“Greg’s an excellent young talent so we’ve two very good left-sided players now in that position who can push each other on.
“Greg will play his part this season as well, there’s no question about that.”
