LEWIS MORGAN was in the rather unusual situation recently where he was being linked with a move away from Celtic before he’s even arrived. He signed in the last window from St Mirren and was immediately loaned back to help Jack Ross’ side win the Championship. Both manager and player got noticed for this achievement – Morgan winning Player of the Year awards and earning a Scotland call up for recent the Americas tour, while Ross was appointed manager at the free falling Sunderland.
And one of his first initiatives at Sunderland was to make moves to take Morgan on loan from Celtic and this has been a story that has been out there for a few weeks, although never on The Celtic Star. We always thought that’d he be playing at Celtic – why would he want to go to Sunderland before he’s even been involved in a Celtic match?
The 21 year old winger obviously is thinking along similar lines.
“I’ve already been out on loan. I had one at St Mirren in the second half of last season, although people might not see it like that. I’m not as young as people might think either, so it’s time for me to stake a claim and show why Celtic signed me in the first place.
“I’m not sure if there is any truth in it (Sunderland link). It’s not something I’m focusing on – I’m only focusing on Celtic.
“I want to stake a claim there, that’s all I am thinking about. You always need to raise your game no matter where you and take the chance to impress. I will go in, work hard and see where it takes me. I believe in my ability.
“I spoke to the manager before the Scotland trip. He said to enjoy myself and that he’d see me on the 18th. l‘m sure we will have a good chat and take it from there.
“The plan has always been to go into Celtic, do pre-season and get a chance to stake my claim. You never know in football. You never know what’s going to happen so you can’t say for certain. But I will be going in for pre-season really trying to get into the starting eleven.”
With Paddy Roberts and Charly Musonda both away from Celtic, Morgan will certainly see an opportunity to make an impression. And the news yesterday that Celtic had completed the signing of Odsonne Edouard is a huge statement that has been noted by Lewis Morgan as he gets ready for the start of his own Celtic adventure.
“Signing Odsonne is a massive statement and it shows that the club wants to be progressive. We want to take that next step and he is a big player who showed last year that he turns up in big games. He is another player who is going to help Celtic move forward.
“I didn’t get bought for the same money as Odsonne and the circumstances are different, but I will give it my best. I suppose you could say I’m under the radar a bit but as transfer fee isn’t something a player thinks about anyway.
“Every player just wants to concentrate on their football and show that, regardless of the money, they deserve to be in the team. I don’t really know much Celtic paid to sign me. That side of things isn’t what players worry about. It’s about letting your football do the talking and show why you are at a club like Celtic.”
“Regardless of who is or isn’t there, I am going as an individual to prove that I deserve to be at Celtic. The players in attacking areas are outstanding and I need to respect that. But I can also learn from these players and try to take my game to the next level.
“There are so many games at Celtic that team is always going to rotate. You just need to make sure you take a chance and take it.
“Across the board, Celtic have shown they are the best team in the country and that is what you want to be part of. I want to embrace the challenge, get in the team and take my game to the next level.”
