December 26, 2024

5 things we spotted from Celtic training as Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths reunite

Leigh Griffiths #LeighGriffiths

Celtic’s training camp in Wales is well under way as Ange Postecoglou leads his players on a nine-day pre-season workout.

The manager has just 15 days to prepare for a Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland and a trip away maximises the time he can spend with his new charges.

Celtic arrived in Newport on Monday and are preparing for a first friendly outing of the summer against Sheffield Wednesday, on Wednesday.

But first up was a morning on the training pitch as Postecoglou looks to revitalise and revolutionise the club after a disappointing season.

Here’s 5 things we spotted from the session at Dragons Park.

Ange in control

Celtic’s release of a video with Postecoglou mic’d up for a Lennoxtown training session went down a storm with supporters last week as they were given a first-hand insight into how the new boss operates.

Postecoglou is intense, animated and a constant voice to guide his players through a very hands-on workout in Wales.

The manager knows he’s time-limited in implementing his philosophy before the competitive action returns and he bears the look of a man trying to squeeze all he can out of every minute of every session.

Boli’s second chance?

Scottish football runs on the outlandish narrative so it wouldn’t it just be typical if Boli Bolingoli somehow redeemed himself at Celtic?

The story of his ill-fated trip to Spain last summer needs no retelling and the left-back has returned from the loan spell at Istanbul Basaksehir which followed his Covid-19 protocol breach.

Video: ‘We bossed it from the moment we got on’ (Sky News)

‘We bossed it from the moment we got on’

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Questions lingered over whether he would return to the fold under Postecoglou until the man himself stepped out at Glasgow Airport to join the rest of the squad in Newport.

It remains to be seen whether Bolingoli makes the grade under the new boss or is moved on, but it does appear he’s at least getting a second chance.

Osaze settles in

It’s always intriguing to catch a new face at training.

Osaze Urhoghide completed his move to Celtic from Sheffield Wednesday last week and on Wednesday fans could get a first look at him on the pitch… against Sheffield Wednesday.

The fact that every member of the squad bar Tom Rogic is getting to know the new manager puts the 20-year-old on a more even footing with his team-mates and he looked to be settling in well during Tuesday’s session.

Postecoglou has a track record for improving young talent and Urhoghide could be next in line to benefit.

Scotland stars are back

It’s been a long old summer for the Celtic stars involved in Euro 2020.

Among them are James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Greg Taylor, David Turnbull and potential captain-in-waiting Callum McGregor after their early exit with Scotland in the group stage.

The quintet haven’t been afforded much time to stew on that disappointment as they returned to the pitch on Tuesday, this time in Celtic colours.

Postecoglou will need his big guns fit and firing for that all-important Champions League qualifier

Griffiths and Edouard reunite

That brief period where Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard threatened to strike up a lasting partnership feels like a lifetime ago now.

Neil Lennon’s switch to a 3-5-2 system in early 2020 showed promise in bringing the best out of both players but they’ve spent little together on the pitch since.

With Griffiths being handed a new deal and Edouard likely to depart this summer, we’ll probably never know where the duo could’ve taken Celtic.

The sight of the pair reuniting on the training pitch may well be the last we see of them together, but you never know in football.

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