Neil Lennon shares reason why Diego Laxalt is going to be crucial this week

Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told the Daily Record that he thinks Diego Laxalt has made a ‘good career move’ by picking a move to Parkhead.

The Bhoys were dismal on Saturday afternoon, as they fell to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Rangers, with Connor Goldson bagging a brace for the Gers.

Celtic just couldn’t get going and were outplayed for most of the game, leaving Lennon to try and find a solution having dropped to four points behind Rangers in the title race.

Celtic 0-2 Rangers | LIVE Reaction

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Celtic 0-2 Rangers | LIVE Reaction

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The game also saw Diego Laxalt make his Celtic debut, having signed on a season-long loan deal from AC Milan two weeks ago.

The Uruguayan speedster started as Celtic’s left-wing back in a 3-5-2, and struggled a little at first as he tried to decide whether to go with James Tavernier or Ryan Kent.

Laxalt generally fared well on his debut, and looks likely to replace Greg Taylor as Celtic’s first-choice left-wing back for the foreseeable future.

Laxalt is set to play against parent club AC Milan in the Europa League this week, and Lennon has admitted that Celtic with lean on him massively in the coming days to find out more about the Italian side.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Lennon added that it’s a ‘good career move’ for the ‘brilliant’ Laxalt, and he made it clear he wanted to sign for Celtic despite interest from elsewhere.

“It’s great that he’s free to play against them but it can leave you with a bit of a bloody nose sometimes,” said Lennon. “Barcelona were okay with Coutinho playing against them and it might have come back and bit them a bit. Of course we’ll be leaning on Diego a lot in the coming days before the game but we’re not just talking about this specific game.”

“It’s a good career move and important for his development to play regularly and the British culture is a style he wants to adapt to. Most importantly he wants to play well for us. He made it clear he wanted to come and play here and he’s fully focused and excited at the season ahead. He knows he’s going to be an integral part of the squad. He’s probably been unfortunate not to play more for AC Milan. He had a good spell at Torino last season and has been a brilliant player for his country over the last few years,” he added.

Celtic’s record transfer sales

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In other news, Teammate says £3m Rangers player was ‘outstanding’ against Celtic