Celtic have plenty of returning loanees who will need to wait and see if they factor into Brendan Rodgers’ long-term thinking at Parkhead.
The Irishman has plenty to consider regarding fringe players, and once pre-season comes around, he will have a great opportunity to evaluate the wider squad.
In the summer transfer window, Rodgers is set to add some new blood amid the reality that departures are also going to occur at Parkhead.
Depending on the volume of outgoings, there could be space available to integrate one or two academy products into the first-team setup.
Now, one Celtic youngster who enjoyed a productive campaign out on loan has shed light on why his spell away from Glasgow’s east end was a successful one.
Matthew Anderson on his loan spell at Admira Wacker
Matthew Anderson was farmed out on loan to Admira Wacker at the start of the campaign. He has since excelled on Austrian soil, registering one goal and seven assists in 22 appearances across all competitions [Transfemarkt].
Scotland international Greg Taylor is the only left-back on the books at Celtic with quantifiable senior experience, making Anderson’s return potentially timely as Rodgers looks to ensure he has adequate depth in the position moving forward.
Cited via The Daily Record, Anderson has opened up on his loan spell at the Hoops’ partner club, stating: “I’ve really enjoyed it.
“Me and Tobi were the first ones to go over there for the partnership with Celtic and I think it went really well for my first full season in football. The standard was surprisingly impressive I thought. A lot of the players told me they had spent time playing in the Austrian Bundesliga and it wasn’t much of a drop-off. I thought it was a perfect level for me to go into for my first season in football.
“My target was to go over there and play as many games as I could. And I think I ended up playing in every game I was available for. So it almost went perfectly. It was a big learning curve because Tobi did his meniscus at the start of the season, so I was on my own. He had to go home for a few months.
“But I thought I coped with it much better than I was expecting. There was a winter break, and that helped a lot because it split up the season. I learned how to cook maybe five dishes, so I had them on repeat for the whole season, and I had to do my own cleaning too! My girlfriend came over maybe more than once a month, and my mum and dad and my brother came over a few times, too.
“With that and the Scotland camps and me being back and forth it felt I was there for maybe three weeks at a time maximum. As a football player, you learn so much in your first year of first-team football, especially abroad.”
Loan experience can only be a good thing for Celtic youngsters
Breaking into the senior Celtic side is a difficult endeavour, especially factoring in the jump from playing Lowland League football at B Team level to having to deal with the pressure of winning every week in the first team.
Loan spells can be a handy mechanism to help prospects bridge the gap; meanwhile, being able to sample new cultures and ways of working can provide invaluable experience to draw on later in their career.