Celtic must sell Hoops flop who Rodgers thought would have a “big impact”

Celtic swept Aberdeen aside with ease on Tuesday night as they clinched an impressive 5-1 victory at Parkhead to move 16 points clear of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

The Hoops secured all three points thanks to two goals from Daizen Maeda and goals from captain Callum McGregor, January signing Jota, and substitute Hyun-jun Yang.

Celtic’s fourth goal came via Yang, who came off the bench in the second half, as the winger combined with several teammates before finding the back of the net at the near post.

The 22-year-old whiz has now produced three goals and five assists in all competitions for the Scottish giants, beating his tally of one goal and three assists in his debut campaign in Glasgow last term.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph described the South Korean attacker as a “raw” talent with “real potential” after being impressed by his cameo against the Dons.

It is now down to Yang to kick on and become a regular at Parkhead as he seeks to potentially become the only player from Brendan Rodgers’ first window back at the club to be a success at the club.

Celtic’s 2023 summer signings for Rodgers

Ange Postecoglou moved on from Celtic at the end of the 2022/23 campaign to sign for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and that opened the door for the Hoops to bring the Northern Irish head coach back for a second spell in Glasgow.

The board backed the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss in the transfer market during his first summer window in charge in 2023, as eight permanent signings were added to the squad.

As you can see in the table above, the Hoops made several fairly significant signings in an attempt to improve the manager’s options, with two centre-backs being among the top three most expensive additions.

However, only Nawrocki and Yang remain at the club in the present day out of those eight signings, and the former has only played twice in all competitions this season.

Tilio, Kwon, Holm, Palma, and Lagerbielke are all out on loan, and could have a future at Parkhead if things change dramatically, whilst Iwata was sold to League One side Birmingham City last summer.

This suggests that it was far from a successful first summer for Rodgers in the transfer market, as there is an argument to be made that Yang has been the only success out of the eight permanent additions, given that he is the only one to have played fairly regularly this season.

Celtic may have expected to get more out of some of them, given the fees splashed out on their services, and one player who was hyped up by Rodgers at the time was central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm.

Rodgers tipped Odin Thiago Holm for big things

In the summer of 2023, the Scottish giants swooped to sign the Norwegian youngster from Valerenga for a reported fee of £2.5m to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

The Norway U21 international had made 76 first-team appearances for Valerenga in all competitions and contributed with six goals and four assists from a midfield position.

Upon his arrival at Celtic that summer, Rodgers tipped the young talent for big things at Parkhead, telling the club’s official website:

“He is a player who has been in the club’s scouting and recruitment system for some time. I have looked at him closely and believe he is someone who can make a big impact at the club.

“He is a great addition to the quality squad we already have and we really look forward to working with him.”

As you can tell from the quotes above, Rodgers had high hopes for Holm at Celtic and believed that the central midfielder was going to play a significant role in his side.

Fast-forward almost two years and the Norwegian midfielder should be ruthlessly sold by the Hoops head coach in the summer transfer window later this year.

Why Celtic should sell Odin Thiago Holm

The £4.8k-per-week flop endured a frustrating first season at Parkhead in the 2023/24 campaign, as he failed to make his way into the side on a regular basis.

Holm ended the term with 13 appearances and just 410 minutes of action across all competitions for the Scottish giants, contributing with one goal and one assist.

The 22-year-old dud was an unused substitute on 13 occasions and did not even make the matchday squad 24 times, which shows that he did not do enough in training or on the pitch to convince Rodgers that he was up to the task of playing week-in-week-out for Celtic.

As you can see in the highlights above, the low point of his debut season in Scotland was his red card for a high, studs-up, challenge in the 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord in the group stage of the Champions League.

Holm then made three appearances off the bench in the Premiership in the first half of the current campaign before he was sent out on loan to LAFC in the MLS in the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old Hoops flop is currently out with a calf injury, though, and has yet to make his debut for the American side, whom he is set to be on loan to until the end of the year.

As you can see in the table above, Celtic already have a solid group of young and experienced midfielders who have played regularly in the Premiership this season, which suggests that Holm is unlikely to come back and force his way into the picture, as he is already behind Engels and Bernardo at a similar age.

Therefore, the Hoops should attempt to cut their losses and cash in on the young Norwegian when the summer transfer window opens, or next January at the end of his loan spell with LAFC, as he has been an unsuccessful signing after Rodgers tipped him for big things in Glasgow.