Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke came off the bench to help loan side FC Twente to famous result at Old Trafford. After Christian Eriksen’s brilliant first half strike, Erik ten Haag’s side appeared to be heading for an opening night win in the Europa League.
Although, Rangers flop Sam Lammers popped up with a 68th minute leveller that silenced Old Trafford and gave the Dutch side a draw. The game allowed for Lagerbielke to come on to make sure they could see out the late surge from United.
Before the game, Lagerbielke said that it was only a matter of time before he got on the pitch for Twente. The 24-year-old believed that he settled in well after making the loan switch from Celtic.
As reported by The Sun, the Swede admitted he was looking forward to getting onto the pitch.
“It feels like it’s only a matter of time until I get to play, and I’m looking forward to that.
“I enjoy myself here and I feel like I’ve settled in well.
“I didn’t get much playing time at Celtic and both me and the club agreed that a loan would be very good for both parties.
“Then I considered my options and there were a few clubs in many different countries interested. I compared the advantages and disadvantages of all and had meetings with different clubs.
“After the meeting with Twente it felt like it was a very good match.
“They have a very clear focus on development with the way they train. They have a fairly small squad where they put a lot of responsibility on each player.
“That combined with playing in the Dutch league which is very good, together with the Europa League felt like a perfect combination.
“It’s about being able to play and be an important player in the team. With that comes development.
“Not playing so far is not something I worry about.
“I’d say I’m at the best place in my career That’s how I feel about my own ability, both physically, tactically, technically, mentally and everything. I feel I am in a very good place.
“In terms of football, I feel like I’m at the highest level I’ve been at in my life, then I just hope to show that on the pitch soon as well.”
It will have helped Lagerbielke’s confidence to get on the pitch for Twente and he will be looking at kicking on in the Netherlands.
Lagerbielke signed for Celtic after being recommended to the club by Carl Starfelt’s agent, who switched to La Liga to join Celta Vigo. The £3m switch was expected to be a replacement for his compatriot, with Maik Nawrocki also arriving in the summer. However, the Swedish central defender made just ten appearances as well as scoring one goal – the win against Feyenoord in the UCL.
Obviously, whatever Rodgers saw in training, he didn’t fancy Lagerbielke in front of Welsh and Rocky but I thought he didn’t get enough gametime to show what he could do.
He does look a bit slight for a centre back and it would appear he was never really forgiven for getting sent off in Europe & getting caught on the ball against the rangers. However, he did ok in the dead-rubber game against Feyenoord where he scored with a header.
At 24 years old, he still has time to develop into a sound defender so hopefully he’ll get the game time with Twente to do so.