With Brendan Rodgers returning to Celtic, just Callum McGregor and James Forrest remain as players that were a big part of the 9IAR run which saw Celtic match their own record from 1974. The 2017/18 entry is Kundai Benyu.
Benyu was signed in 2017 by Brendan Rodgers despite his appearances coming in the National League. The move for the English born Zimbabwean was a bizarre one.
Benyu was brought into the club with the promise of being one to watch for the future but potentially being in and around the first team. His debut came against Linfield in the Champions League qualifier, which Celtic won 4-0.
Benyu didn’t have much of the ball but looked raw when he did take possession. This was amplified in his first start as Brendan Rodgers named a youthful side to play Lee McCulloch’s Killie at Rugby Park.
Celtic won 2-0 but Benyu appeared to be out of his depth. Often being crowded out despite making some nice contributions with the ball. To come in and force his way into a side that already had Stuart Armstrong, Callum McGregor, Scott Brown, Tom Rogic, Nir Bitton and the recently signed Olivier Ntcham was always going to prove to be a bridge too far.
Benyu was loaned out to Aldershot and Oldham in an attempt to get game time and also had some time over in Sweden working with Henrik Larsson. He was subsequently released by Celtic.
