There are no regrets or worries over Maik Nawrocki’s summer transfer to Celtic.
After Carl Starfelt was sold to Celta Vigo, Brendan Rodgers appeared to have gained access to a position, but a string of unlucky occurrences kept him on the sidelines and raised questions about his suitability. Rodgers had signed for Legia Warsaw at the end of July.
The Polish goalkeeper suffered a hamstring strain in the closing seconds of his third appearance in the League Cup loss against Kilmarnock. This is the third major injury to a central defender in eight days, as he now joins Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh on the sidelines.
Nawrocki was left out of Celtic’s Champions League roster due to a loan move for Nat Phillips, thus Liam Scales filled in as Plan D.
After spending £4.3 million, it appeared as though the Pole, who was raised in Germany, had found his lucky break. However, in the most difficult of domestic matches, he found an improbable lifeline via dedication and hard effort.
After Welsh injured his shoulder 30 minutes into the Glasgow Derby, Rodgers resorted to the Pole. It was his first time playing for four months, but under pressure, he teamed up with Scales to help Celtic win and take a commanding lead in the Premiership heading into the winter break.
Every aspect of Celtic’s summer hiring has drawn criticism. Nawrocki acknowledged that fans were doubting his decision to join, but in an interview with the Daily Record, the Pole said he never worried that he had entered the wrong film:
Though I believe it’s normal to consider it, I never felt doubtful about my decision to come here no matter how many times I discussed it with others.
I feel like I belong here. It was inevitable for me to return to playing, as I knew myself. I always had faith that everything will work out nicely for me in the end.
I am glad to be here with all of the folks, even if I could have chosen different choices. The circumstance was simply unanticipated. In football, such does occur occasionally. Furthermore, I never second-guessed or regretted choosing to come here.
In his two games with Scales, Nawrocki has hardly made a mistake, but with Carter-Vickers on the verge of a comeback, Rodgers will soon have to make a significant choice.
As the stakes in the race for the SPFL Premiership rise, the Celtic manager may have four solid choices for two spots after struggling to assemble a reliable and successful central defense tandem during the first half of the season.
