Celtic can turn their attention away from the Scottish Premiership this weekend as they prepare to take on St. Johnstone in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup.
The Hoops are set to fight it out for a place in the final of the competition in the hope of retaining the trophy that Adam Idah’s last-gasp goal won for them last season.
Brendan Rodgers has the chance to win a domestic treble for the first time in his second spell at Parkhead, as Celtic have already won the League Cup and are on the verge of winning the Premiership.
The Hoops won the top-flight and the SFA Cup in the 2023/24 campaign, and this means that they could end this season with five out of six trophies won in the Northern Irishman’s return to Glasgow.
Rodgers has an excellent squad at his disposal, which has helped him to be as successful as he has been so far, and even the lesser-seen talents have stepped up for the boss in recent weeks.
Maik Nawrocki and Viljami Sinisalo are two rarely-seen stars who have emerged as viable first-team options for the manager over the past month or so.
Maik Nawrocki and Viljami Sinisalo have proven their worth
The Polish defender had not made a single appearance in the Premiership, despite being fit and available, prior to the club’s clash with Rangers before the March international break.
Injuries to Liam Scales and Auston Trusty at the time provided the former Legia Warsaw colossus with opportunities to start against Rangers and Hearts in the top-flight.
Minutes
90
90
Clearances
7
9
Blocks
0
3
Tackles + interceptions
5
1
Duels won
7/10
8/9
Dribbled past
0x
0x
Pass accuracy
93%
98%
As you can see in the table above, Nawrocki was outstanding in his two performances in the Premiership, dominating the Rangers and Hearts attackers and making numerous interventions to keep them at bay.
However, the Polish ace has been an unused substitute in the last two league games because Rodgers claimed he prefers to have a naturally left-footed player on that side of the centre-back pairing.
Nawrocki is not the only reserve player who has had opportunities recently, though, as Sinisalo has played the last three league matches in the absence of Kasper Schmeichel, who was injured on international duty with Denmark.
The Finnish shot-stopper saved 71% of the shots on his goal and kept one clean sheet in those three games, proving himself to be a more than able deputy for the Danish number one.
Sinisalo and Nawrocki’s performances show that market value is not the be-all and end-all for players, as they have performed well when called upon despite being two of the lowest-valued players in the squad.
The lowest-valued players in the Celtic squad
Both of those players rank within the bottom ten in the squad for market value, as per Transfermarkt, and that could be down to their lack of minutes on the pitch prior to their recent emergence in the starting XI.
The lowest-valued player at the club is 20-year-old academy graduate goalkeeper Josh Clarke, who is yet to actually make his first-team debut but has featured on the bench, with a valuation of just £64k.
Josh Clarke
20
£64k
James McCarthy
34
£85k
Scott Bain
33
£171k
Johnny Kenny
21
£193k
James Forrest
33
£429k
Kasper Schmeichel
38
£644k
Viljami Sinisalo
23
£686k
Anthony Ralston
26
£1.2m
Maik Nawrocki
24
£1.7m
Luke McCowan
27
£1.7m
As you can see in the table above, only six players in the squad are worth less than Sinisalo, and two of them – Clarke and Johnny Kenny – are young prospects.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?
But, as per the earlier point, a low market value does not equal a bad player because there are several factors that go into a valuation that are not performance-based.
Kasper Schmeichel, who is valued lower than both Nawrocki and Sinisalo, is the perfect example because he is only worth £686k, but it is because he is now 38 and his current contract expires in the summer of 2026.
Celtic have hit the jackpot with Kasper Schmeichel
Celtic have hit the jackpot with the Denmark international because they brought him in on a free transfer from Anderlecht last summer, and he has provided phenomenal value on the pitch.
At the age of 38, Schmeichel is not a young talent who is going to make the club a significant profit in the future, like a Matt O’Riley or an Odsonne Edouard did, but his value comes in the form of his performances for the club.
Not every signing made by Celtic has to be with the long-term in mind or with a financial hat on, some signings can be for short-term impact on helping the team to win trophies.
As you can see in the highlights above, Schmeichel has produced quality in the Champions League for Celtic this season, as is further evidenced by his three clean sheets and 0.55 goals prevented in ten outings in the competition.
The experienced colossus, who was dubbed “amazing” by pundit Micah Richards, has also been a star for the Scottish giants in the Premiership in his first year in Glasgow.
Appearances
30
Save success rate
77%
Goals conceded
21
Saves
68
Clean sheets
19
Error led to goal
0
Pass accuracy
94%
As you can see in the table above, the former Leicester City stopper has kept a staggering 19 clean sheets in 30 matches for the Hoops in the league, helping them to be on the verge of a fourth successive top-flight title.
These statistics in both the Premiership and the Champions League show that Schmeichel has hit the ground running at Celtic as a star performer, offering a reliable and quality presence between the sticks for Rodgers.
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