Hopefully Diego Laxalt will finally get to experience the sweet taste of victory this afternoon at Hampden against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final and in doing so help book Celtic a place in next month’s final against Championship side Hearts, who yesterday beat Edinburgh rivals Hibs 2-1 after extra-time.
Laxalt has been a stand-out during what has been a tough run of fixtures for Neil Lennon’s side with two defeats followed by two draws in the last four matches. And even if the results hasn’t gone his way in those games the Celtic manager is nevertheless delighted with the loan signing from AC Milan, as indeed are the Celtic Supporters. Laxalt was a real stand-out against a very talented Lille side in Thursday, making 13 successful tackles, which apparently is the most by any player in a Europa League game for six years.
“He has been outstanding from the moment he came through the door,” Lennon told the media, as reported by Daily Record. “He doesn’t speak much English but you don’t have to tell him too much or give him too many instructions.
“He knows the game, he understands his position and when I watched him, I felt he’d add a lot of quality to our play. Diego has been an excellent addition, a superb asset to the squad,” Lenny added.
“He’s very fit and he’s a great defender. He gives us good balance on the left. He’s aggressive in his play and in his passing. I’ve been absolutely delighted with him so far.
“He hasn’t been on a winning team yet so he’s getting a bit of stick about that from the boys. But his performances have been fantastic and he will only get better. He’s enjoying it here and we’re enjoying him. He was brilliant against Lille, who are quality opposition.
“Could we keep him beyond his loan? It’s early days. But listen, when you’ve got a player like that it will probably come down to having a discussion with him.
“He’s a player I’ve admired for a long time and he’s proven everything that I thought about him to be true. I watched him a lot and I have always liked his style. Going forward he gives us good pace and thrust – but he also likes to defend.
“His positioning and football intelligence are really high. I think we’ll see even more of him when he gets accustomed to the culture and the language. But so far he’s adapted brilliantly in the games,” the manager said.
Lennon also reckons that the addition of Laxalt to the Celtic squad will help Greg Taylor develop his own game. “Greg will learn a lot from Diego and vice versa – hopefully they can bounce off each other. Greg’s an excellent young talent so we’ve two very good left-sided players now in that position who can push each other on.
“Greg will play his part this season as well, there’s no question about that.”
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