As reported by The Daily Mirror, Celtic could be making a move for Queens Park Rangers defender Steven Caulker this summer.
The 25-year-old, who has won a cap for England and played for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, has found himself frozen out of the QPR first-team squad this summer having been omitted from their pre-season preparations.
Celtic have already made three signings this summer but are expected to make more as Brendan Rodgers attempts to build a squad that is not just capable of dominating the opposition domestically but also competing in the UEFA Champions League.
They’re light on defenders with Kolo Toure, Efe Ambrose and Eoghan O’Connell all leaving the club at the end of last season so will likely be linked with centre-backs all summer.
For us, the Hoops need look no further than Caulker himself.
Here are THREE reasons why they should make their move for the former Spurs man…
He’s a former Brendan Rodgers man
We already know that Brendan Rodgers loves a link-up with former players and associates. We’ve seen that plenty at Celtic even in his short time in Glasgow with Kolo Toure, Scott Sinclair and Dorus De Vries all having previously worked with the Hoops boss prior to their spells at the club.
He gets the best out of players he knows well and certainly found success with Steven Caulker when he had the then Tottenham Hotspur star on loan at Swansea City for the 2011/2012 Premier League season.
That was the Swans’ debut campaign in the top-flight and Caulker was a mainstay in Rodgers’ side, along with Sinclair, as they finished in a superb 11th place. He was just a 20-year-old back then with the Celtic boss playing an instrumental role in his development.
It’s clear that Rodgers knows how to utilise him and we can’t see a reunion at Celtic being anything but a success.
His career needs rehabilitation, but Celtic is a great place for it
Last month Steven Caulker gave a very brave interview to The Guardian, opening up about the demons that have plagued his career from an early. He talked about his addictions to gambling and alcohol but also expressed a desire to rebuild his career and show everyone what he is capable of as a person and a footballer.
We can’t think of anywhere better than Celtic for him to rehabilitate his career and his life in some manner. He certainly has the ability and as we’ve seen with Scott Sinclair, returning to the guidance of Brendan Rodgers can help bring out a player’s best form.
The Hoops are also a welcoming club with a fantastic fan base that treat players like superstars. While that comes with it’s own pressures, it can also have a massive positive effect.
From a footballing point of view there’s even the chance to make appearances in the UEFA Champions League, the pinnacle of European football. If he can perform well there he’ll know he’s truly back on the right track career wise and hopefully can find the help off the pitch needed to be happy again.
Of course, it would be pure charity for the Hoops to give him a chance, they’ve be getting a defender who had all makings to be an elite player at one point in his career and who undoubtedly still has talent.
Celtic need a partner for Jozo Simunovic
One thing is certain whether Celtic decide to move for Steven Caulker or not – they badly need another first team defender at the club. Right now only Jozo Simunovic, Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko are natural in the position and Boyata is injured for the next three months. They have cover with Mikael Lustig who is able to deputise in the centre of defence and can maybe even call upon the inexperienced Kristoffer Ajer, but those are far from ideal solutions.
Even persisting with Sviatchenko is arguably not the best way forward. He’s been shaky since the turn of the year and even though he can offer committed performances, he is rarely comfortable in possession, even against Linfield on Friday night.
Heading into important qualifiers and potentially the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, the Bhoys are under-equipped at the back and it’s a problem that Steven Caulker could certainly go some way to solving.
