Has Celtic’s acquisition of McCowan shut the door on another promising Scottish talent?

When a club brings in multiple players for the same position, it inevitably creates competition. Coaches must decide who gets priority for playing time, which can limit opportunities for others.

This summer, Celtic brought in three midfielders: Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo, and surprisingly, Luke McCowan. Although there were whispers in the final week of the transfer window, few anticipated McCowan’s arrival.

McCowan has made a solid start. His commitment, work rate, and ability to find dangerous positions on the field have impressed many, and he’s shown a great knack for getting shots on target.

That’s a quality you can never have too much of in any team. However, ironically, McCowan’s arrival could block Celtic from pursuing another rising Scottish star in January or the summer: Lennon Miller.

Miller is currently making waves and seems like an outstanding young prospect. Celtic has a long-standing tradition of picking up the best young Scottish talent. However, with McCowan, who is 26 and brings a lot of experience, it’s hard to see how there’s room for Miller, even if the club believes he’s the next big thing.

This is the dilemma of having a large squad—you have players you’d love to bring in, but no clear spot for them. Miller is too good to sit on the bench. To properly develop a talent like him, you’d need him playing regularly, but with the current depth in Celtic’s midfield, that’s difficult to guarantee.

The question remains—should Celtic pursue him regardless? And does Miller think he could break into the first team if he joins? It’s a tough decision for both the club and the player.

Celtic already has a lot of quality in midfield. Callum McGregor is a mainstay, Paulo Bernardo is performing well for Portugal’s U21s, and Arne Engels, Celtic’s record signing, isn’t likely to be pushed aside for a new arrival.

Then there’s Reo Hatate and McCowan. Luke has a real shot to make his mark, while Reo could be on the move next summer, as rumors suggest. If that happens and McCowan steps up, there might be room for Miller—but even then, he’d still be further down the pecking order.

The saying goes that you can never have too many good players, but in this case, Celtic may need to make some tough calls.

rewrite But in reality, sometimes you can have too many.

All that happens then is they trip over each other, frustrated at not getting game time. I think right now Celtic has the balance about right, with everyone getting enough minutes to stay happy. But if you start adding more players to an already crowded area, it gets messy fast.

We already have a good young midfielder in Holm sitting in the reserves but can’t break into the first team, and a lot of people thought he’d be developed into a key player. Bringing in Miller would complicate things further if he hits the ground running.

Football is Darwinian. It’s a meritocracy, and that’s part of why it’s so compelling. If we sign Miller and he proves better than McCowan or even Hatate, and he starts scoring goals and cementing his place in the team, he’ll stay there. It’s as simple as that. The strongest and best go furthest in this sport. So, the real question is, does Miller have it in him to be that player?

I wonder if McCowan’s signing has closed that door.

It certainly complicates pursuing Miller in January or even the summer. However, if Hatate decides to leave, the situation becomes clearer. Normally, this would be an obvious choice—one of those signings you’d advocate for because he could be the next Stuart Armstrong, someone ready to make a significant impact.

The challenge is that this blog and others have highlighted the shortage of emerging young Scottish talent for years. It would be typical for us to overlook Miller only to see him blossom into the standout player of his generation.

This situation is delicate, and it will be intriguing to see how it unfolds. If Miller continues on his current path, we might lose the chance to sign him altogether if an English club swoops in first. We could end up watching him score his first Premier League goal, left wondering what might have been. If he truly has that potential, it seems almost inevitable.

So, should we make a move now while things are still somewhat uncertain and take that risk? Would Miller be willing to face the possibility of not securing a spot in the team?

It’s a complex decision, and I doubt it will be resolved by January, though it might by summer. That presents another risk for Celtic because if he’s on our radar, we need to act quickly before Premier League clubs come knocking and we’re left out of the race.

The prospect of him joining the rival club across the city is another factor to consider. Given their current squad situation, you might think he would have a clearer path into their starting lineup. However, can they afford him? If it comes down to a bidding war between us and them, we would easily outspend them, just as a Premier League club could outbid us.

Miller certainly has talent, which is why this discussion is taking place. The question remains whether that talent is enough to justify the risk for Celtic.

This is definitely a situation to watch in the near future.

One thing is certain: any bid for him will require a substantial financial commitment, which adds another layer to the equation. Celtic can definitely afford that, especially compared to the club across the city, which can only dream of investing that much in a young Scottish player. This financial strength might be our greatest advantage in this scenario.

Source: https://thecelticblog.com/2024/10/articles-and-features/has-celtic-signing-mccowan-closed-the-door-on-another-great-scottish-talent/