Five headlines from Celtic vs Newcastle United including powerful striker signing and new recruit hint
Celtic played out an impressive 4-0 friendly win against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Boss Brendan Rodgers handed fans another glimpse of what his team could look like this season in their first friendly at Parkhead. Billed as the ‘Adidas Cup’, a strong Newcastle team was fielded with the likes of Kieran Trippier, Harvey Barnes and Bruno Guimaraes deployed against the Hoops.
It was the hosts who were rampant as goals from Arne Engels, Johnny Kenny, Yang and Liam Scales secured an easy win. The Premiership campaign begins against St Mirren next month. Here are five headlines we took out the game.
New striker in the building
Kieran Tierney approach
Amid injury issues the club hero has had, there has been some scepticism over how often Rodgers will be able to utlise him this season. There appears to be a cautious approach as after starting him midweek vs Sporting Lisbon, Tierney was on the bench here upon his return to Parkhead since leaving for Arsenal.
The left-back said pre match of fitness doubts: “Nothing [to prove] because I know how much I work professionally myself on my body, on my recovery, being as ready as I can be for games. I’m not here to prove anything, I’m just here to do the best for Celtic and see where it goes. I’ll probably take on more of an experienced player role now. When I left I was 21, 22 and now I’ve come back 28 years old with a lot more experience than I had.”
There’s been much made of who will come in at left back alongside Tierney, now that Greg Taylor has moved on to PAOK, but could the answer lie within? Hayato Inamura has been signed and is naturally a centre back but again played out at left back. Rodgers could possibly look to have him stepping into that role should Tierney be unavailable, similar to what Scales has done on occasion.
Johnny Kenny’s Celtic chance
After impressing on loan with Shamrock Rovers, Johnny Kenny got the second half of last season in and around Rodgers’ first team. He’s now had pre season and impressed midweek, earning his spot in the team here ahead of Idah. With Celtic needing to add in attack even beyond Yamada, there’s a chance for the Irishman to prove he can step into the current void. Netted here to aid his cause.
Elite test
Facing sides like Newcastle United – who have qualified for the Champions League – will give Celtic a gauge in where they are at when it comes to squad building. This showed that while they may be ahead of Newcastle in terms of pre season prep, quality is very much there in the Celtic ranks, as Eddie Howe fielded a strong team. Squad players stepped up to stake their claim in encouraging moments.
