Celtic star loanee Moritz Bauer has erased hopes of getting a permanent deal back with the club.
The Austria born international right-back came running when Hoops manager Neil Lennon came calling in the summer as he agreed to a season-long loan from English Championship side Stoke City
Lennon was short of personnel at the right-back position following the departure of veteran Swedish international Mikael Lustig and deputy Cristian Gamboa after the end of their contracts, which wasn’t renewed afterward.
This prompted the park head boss to make a quick move for Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s Hatem Abdel Elhamed for a fee of £1.7m. However, Lenny still needed depth at that position in a bid to continue his dominance in the SPFL
The introduction of Jeremie Frimpong from Premier Lague side Manchester City on transfer deadline day has been remarkable as he made a brilliant start impressing the club hierarchy and Lennon himself.
Frimpong made his debut in the Betfred Cup as Celtic thrashed Patrick Thistle five-nil. The 19-year old Netherland international became a handful for the opposition defense to handle as his tricks and have caused a lot of trouble for the opponents.
El Hamed got injured in the Celtic win over Lazio in the Europa League, and many would have thought Bauer would come in straight to lot right into the position, but Lenny hesitated, and after making 12 appearances, Bauer eventually got into the starting lineup in January.
He started playing and didn’t make Lennon feel as if he missed the presence of his injured first-choice right back. The right full-back said admitted that he doesn’t wish for the season to head as he has been already enjoying himself at the club even if he first had a shaky start.
“I thought I would come in and displace he current right back I met here, but I had a patchy start. Losing my place was not due to my performance. I m in my late twenties and a player on loan from stoke”.
“I love Celtic so much, and I am glad to be here, but I understand that Celtic is a club that builds the experience of young players, which is very good”.
Written by: Olumide Akinnifesi
