Celtic must replace Carter-Vickers with “exceptional” youngster

Are we witnessing history unfold before our very eyes in Scottish football?

No club outside the Old Firm has been crowned champions of Scotland since Aberdeen in 1984/85, with Celtic themselves hoovering up 13 of the last 14 Premiership titles.

However, right now, it is Heart of Midlothian who lead the way, five points clear of faltering Celtic, and the pair meet at Tynecastle on Sunday lunchtime in, potentially, one of the biggest matches played on Scottish soil for a generation.

Brendan Rodgers will take his team to Tynecastle depleted, potentially without five key starters, so should the Celts’ “exceptional” forgotten youngster come into the team and, belatedly, be entrusted to start matches?

Cameron Carter-Vickers injury latest

On Thursday night, any celebrations sparked by Celtic’s come-from-behind Europa League victory over Sturm Graz were very much tempered by a trio of injury concerns.

Right at the end of the game, Cameron Carter-Vickers suffered a nasty injury, with Rodgers later revealing that the USA international has sustained a serious Achilles tendon injury which will see him sidelined for potentially up to five months.

This came after both Kelechi Ịheanachọ and Alistair Johnston were forced to withdraw during the first half on Thursday, joining Jota and Daizen Maeda in a star-studded and crowded treatment room.

Thus, none of this quintet will feature at Tynecastle on Sunday, with Maeda the only one in contention to return in time for the League Cup semi-final against Rangers a week later, but Carter-Vickers will be a particularly impactful absentee.

Since joining from Tottenham in the summer of 2021 under Ange Postecoglou, initially on loan but then permanently for £6m, he has been an absolutely integral figure, as the table below documents.

As the table documents, since Carter-Vickers’ arrival in Glasgow, only captain Callum McGregor has made more appearances for the club than the American international, featuring in 172 of 224 fixtures, around 77%, despite various injury problems, including requiring knee surgery two years ago, but that ratio will drastically drop in the coming weeks and months.

His performances have earned high praise, with former long-serving captain Scott Brown believing he is the club’s best centre-back since Virgil van Dijk, labelling him “solid, strong and quick”, praising his reading of the game and leadership qualities.

So, how on earth does Rodgers go about filling this ginormous void in the middle of his back line?

Well, now would be the time for him to trust his forgotten “exceptional” youngster.

Celtic’s ready-made Carter-Vickers deputy

Liam Scales has been Carter-Vickers’ centre-back partner throughout this season, with fellow United States international Auston Trusty seemingly next in line to come into defence.

However, as documented by Art de Roché of the Athletic, managers of possession-heavy teams are often hesitant to start two left-footed centre-backs together.

Meanwhile, Trusty’s form last season suggests he may not be the best candidate, as he made five errors that led to shots or goals in the Premiership, per Sofascore, more than any other defender in the squad.

Thus, should forgotten man Jahmai Simpson-Pusey return from the footballing wilderness and be thrust into the spotlight at Tynecastle?

The 19-year-old, who is right-footed, joined on loan from Manchester City during the summer, but is yet to make his senior debut, an unused substitute for both legs of the Champions League play-off against Kairat, but otherwise not even on the bench for any other fixture.

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His sole outing in hoops to date came for Celtic B in the KDM Evolution Trophy, starting a 5-3 defeat to East Fife in front of just 616 spectators at Bayview, probably not what he had envisaged when he made the move north of the border.

Simpson-Pusey,​​​​​​​ though, does boast an impressive pedigree, captaining Manchester City to FA Youth Cup success in 2024, featuring regularly for the Sky Blues in the UEFA Youth League and other underage competitions, notably named Premier League 2 player of the season last year, per Transfermarkt.

With the Citizens enduring something of an injury crisis, he made six senior appearances during the most recent campaign too, starting against Brighton in the Premier League, Sporting in the Champions League, and Salford in the FA Cup, thrown in at the deep end.

Thus, he is certainly highly rated by Pep Guardiola, who labelled him “exceptional” following an EFL Cup tie at Tottenham a year ago, while the Scouting App praised his ‘very good passing ability​​​​​​​’ and ‘physical presence’, noting that he thrives in a high line.

These all sound like comparable traits to Carter-Vickers, who is regularly tasked with playing penetrative passes forward, while his usual starting position is on the half-way line, given how much Celtic dominate possession in domestic competitions.

Thus, stylistically, Simpson-Pusey appears to be the ideal deputy, not that Celtic supporters have seen any evidence of this to date.

The teenager was not included in Celtic’s European squad but, following a change in UEFA regulations, if a player is injured long-term, they can be replaced for the remainder of the league phase; clubs can only make this change once a season.

Thus, Simpson-Pusey could yet feature in the Europa League so, before the Hoops travel to Midtjylland next month, he needs to be given an opportunity to prove his worth, starting with Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash in Edinburgh.