Three Reasons Why Celtic Cannot Afford To Sell Experienced Winger This Summer

When Neil Lennon arrived at Celtic Park in February as interim manager after the departure of Brendan Rodgers, many could have argued that Scott Sinclair was in his best patch of form since his spectacular first season at the Parkhead club.

An excellent spurt of form around the Christmas and new year period saw the Englishman net an impressive 12 goals in 15 games for the Hoops. Despite the impressiveness of these statistics that show the winger can be deadly when on form, there can be no denial that the fans favourite frustrated sections of the Celtic support beyond belief in the previous campaign. Without a domestic goal to his name since then for Celtic there has been reported interest from the English Premier League for his signature for the modest sum of around £2 million; Sheffield United to be precise.

Here are three reasons as to why Celtic cannot dispose of Scott Sinclair’s services in this summer window:

He has match-winning quality

There is absolutely no doubt that Sinclair can be a divisive figure amongst the Celtic support.  Despite this, if it wasn’t for his exploits in crunch games at times last season then Celtic could’ve really struggled to acquire the elusive eighth league title that made its way home to Parkhead in May.

A moment of brilliance from Sinclair against a robust and difficult to break down Aberdeen side was the difference, with his back to goal; an audacious backheel effort was enough to beat Joe Lewis in the Aberdeen goal. This gave Celtic what turned out to be a vital three points on their way to eight in a row in a game that failed to ignite a convincing Celtic performance. More-over who could forget the scintillating performance of the number 11 away to the Dons in the enthralling 4-3 clash that took place on St Stephens Day at the tail-end of 2018.

Three goals that strangely enough were all from very similar range; just outside the six-yard line in what some would argue could’ve been the former Chelsea youth-prodigies best game in the green and white. Sinclair’s ability to be in the right place at the right time for goalscoring opportunities makes him one of the deadliest players in the country on his day.

Important strikes against Rosenborg BK in a rare away win for the Celts in Europe, ended up decisive in the successful quest to qualify from the Europa League group stages in what was seen by many as an almost insurmountable task against the riches of the Red Bull two – Salzburg and Leipzig. Alongside goals such as the sweet early left foot strike from an impossible angle against St Johnstone, which set the tone for a 5-0 victory in which the left-sided player ended up scoring a hat-trick. These show Sinclair can be dangerously effective once able to find his rhythm, and Celtic could really do with him flourishing in what promises to be a powder-keg 2019/20 chapter for the champions.

Consistent goal contribution

One aspect of Sinclair’s game that cannot be called into question is his goalscoring record for Celtic year on year. Even when the 30-year old possibly isn’t at his foremost; the goals still seem to bare fruit. There are those that will argue that Sinclair hasn’t been at his best for quite some time, of which these concerns are justified. Yet, even without firing on all cylinders the player has still collectively amassed a total of 35 goals and 23 assists across the last two seasons, alongside the sensational 25 goal and 11 assist campaign that came before. Will Celtic really be able to find someone better equipped to do the same job for the same fee or less than the Bath-born ace is allegedly being courted for?

Johnston vs Sinclair can only mean healthy competition for Neil Lennon

One of the main contrasts between the new managerial dawn and campaign in place is the emergence of electrifying young winger Mikey Johnston. Multiples of fans and critics alike are beginning to tout the young Scot to be the Bhoys starting left-sided winger in the upcoming push for nine in a row. This can only be beneficial for Celtic; the reason for this being that Scott Sinclair is no longer guaranteed to walk into the starting XI regardless of how he is faring on the pitch. He will need to fight hard for his place against a player many see as one of the best academy prospects to come out of Lennoxtown in quite some time.

Another element of positivity to come out of this is also the fact that Johnston and Sinclair are different players; meaning they can be used to effect in circumstantially different games. Johnston possesses different qualities to Sinclair, he is maybe more effective at taking defenders to the touchline or making something happen out of thin air. Meanwhile, Sinclair is perhaps better at sniffing out goalscoring opportunities from close range, and give and go exchanges leading to dangerous openings in-front of goal for himself or his teammates.

Coming into a more senior role now in the prime of his career, Sinclair’s knowledge and tactical nous of the game from the left-wing position may come in handy to Mikey Johnston, as he continues to learn his trade as an influential member of the Celtic side. Both players will be important to Celtic as they push on for what would be a record-equalling nine in a row triumph.

Sean Markus Clifford