Martin O’Neill has had his say on Celtic’s Shim Mheuka and what he expects from the teenager.
O’Neill has handed the loanee two appearances from the bench, and he has already looked the part in his combined 22 minutes of football in the green and white.
Mheuka has joined on a season-long loan with no buy option, which suggests how highly he’s rated at Chelsea.
The 18-year-old thought he had marked his second Hoops appearance with a goal at the weekend, netting what would’ve been Celtic’s third goal against St Mirren with around a minute left to play.
Instead, VAR instructed the referee to go to the monitor. No lines could be drawn, leaving it up to the ref as to whether Mheuka was offside. In the end, the goal was disallowed, despite the on-field decision being a goal.
And O’Neill expects the striker to thrive during his time at the champions. Speaking to Celtic Player, O’Neill said:
“Yeah, I expect decent things of Shim, I expect him to do well. He’s just getting to know the players, he’s getting to know what’s expected of him in terms of style of play of us, what we do with the ball, what we do without it.
“It’s essentially what he does with the ball that will determine not only his time here but his future in the game. He looks a player. I wouldn’t want to be throwing a host of accolades in someone’s direction if they’re not up for it but I think he’s definitely capable.”
O’Neill’s praise shows a player who is likely showing a lot of potential behind the scenes. While he’s only at the club temporarily, the manager’s expectations are clear.
Based on the youngster’s attitude and his two appearances so far, he could be set for a promising career, not just at Celtic, but overall.
O’Neill admitted that he has more goalscoring options now than last campaign:
“We definitely have got better options up front than we had last season”, he continued.
“Daizen Maeda single-handedly took it upon himself to get the goals for us, which was fantastic. And then, of course, Kelechi Iheanacho, he scored really vital goals so between the two of them, they got us over the line in that sense.
“Not to say that other people didn’t play their parts, of course they did, but we feel as if we’ve got better options in the sense that I think we’re capable of scoring goals.
“Last season, during my time, both spells, I was wondering where the goals were going to come from.”
Mheuka was one of three new signings omitted from the Europa League squad, along with Joel van den Berg and Landon Emenalo. While that’s a disappointment, the strong competition in attack made it a tough call for O’Neill and his staff to make.
It means he may be called upon in regular domestic matches once Celtic’s European campaign gets up and running. The regular Thursday/Sunday schedule will put a demand on the squad overall to deliver; Mheuka could prove valuable in place of Camilo Duran or Kasper Hogh.
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