GUSTAF OUT? EURO HERO PICKED FOR EXIT

Gustaf Lagerbielke, the Champions League goal hero, could be on his way out of Celtic.

The Swedish center-back was the unlikely matchwinner when he headed in the game-winning goal in Parkhead’s 2-1 midweek victory over Feyenoord.

Lagerbielke, who joined from Elfsborg in the summer for £3 million, is said to be one of the surplus players likely to be moved on during the January transfer window, according to the Daily Mail.

As Brendan Rodgers attempts to reduce the number of players in his 33-man squad, Hoops assistant manager John Kennedy has revealed that the defence is likely to be targeted.

Lagerbielke came on as a 75th-minute substitute for comeback Bhoy Stephen Welsh, making his first appearance in four months, against the Dutch side to score his memorable winner.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, who has been out with a hamstring injury for the past two games, is set to return against Hearts this afternoon, where he is expected to line up alongside Liam Scales.

Maik Nawrocki, who joined Legia Warsaw for £4.5 million in August, could be named to the stand-by squad.

As CQN forecasted yesterday, on-loan Nat Phillips will return to Liverpool when his short-term contract expires, while Yuki Kobayashi, signed by Ange Postecoglou from J-League outfit Vissel Kobe in January, could make a temporary switch to get game time.

When asked about the waiting list for central defensive slots, Kennedy said, “It is a position where we have a lot of players. In January, there is probably going to have to be a couple who go and get game time elsewhere. Trim the squad down.

“If anything we are probably carrying a lot of numbers, so there will be a lot on the periphery who will need to get game time or maybe move, whatever it may be.

“Everyone will have their own agenda on that. When it comes to it, at Celtic, there is going to be four or five centre-backs in every squad.

“Then it is a case of competing with each other and be ready to step in whenever called upon, like Welshy the other night, he’s not featured for a long time, but came in out of nowhere and performed the way he did. He did really well.

“That is what you have to be ready for. Cam has been the one who has been most consistent over the years. You have to be ready to play.”

Looking ahead to today’s Premiership match against the Tynecastle club, where the champions have the chance to open an eight-point lead at the top, Kennedy told Celtic TV: “Steven Naismith has done well, and the last couple of results maybe haven’t gone their way, but they did have a good run.”

“They are always difficult to play against and have set up in different ways against us.

“We just need to concentrate and we know the threats they carry.’

“They can counterattack quickly and they have a goal threat with the attacking players they carry.

“We have to respect that, but go out with the mindset of being aggressive and pushing them back as much as we can.”

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