Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers unleashed Benjamin Nygren on the right wing against Sturm Graz in his latest attempt to fill that spot that was vacated by Nicolas Kuhn.
The Hoops sold the German winger to Como for £16.5m in the summer transfer window, after he racked up 21 goals and 15 assists in 51 appearances in all competitions for the club last season, per Transfermarkt.
Nygren, who missed four ‘big chances’ to find the back of the net, scored the winning goal against Sturm Graz on Thursday night in the Europa League with a close-range header.
However, Football FanCast have suggested that the injury to Kelechi Iheanacho could mean that the Swedish star is needed at centre-forward, which would leave the manager to find another right winger.
Why Celtic are struggling on the right wing
Celtic allowed Kuhn to move on from Parkhead without signing an out-and-out right winger, as Rodgers has mainly used Nygren in a central midfield role, whilst Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti are both left-sided wingers.
This has meant that there has been pressure on Hyun-jun Yang and experienced winger James Forrest to step up on the right, but neither of them have risen to the task.
Per WhoScored, Yang and Forrest have failed to provide a single goal or assist in 12 combined appearances in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, which shows that they have not offered enough quality in the final third.
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With this in mind, Rodgers should look to unleash Luke McCowan in a new role on the right wing for the clash with Hearts in the league on Sunday.
Why Luke McCowan should start against Hearts
With Nygren moving over a centre-forward role, per our suggestion, the former Dundee midfielder could be an interesting solution to the team’s problems on the right wing.
As aforementioned, Yang and Forrest have simply not done enough with the ball at the top end of the pitch to suggest that they have the quality to be regular starters on the right wing to finally replace Kuhn at Parkhead.
McCowan, albeit in a different position, is a proven Premiership performer who knows how to score and assist goals fairly consistently for Celtic.
Appearances
44
58
Starts
19
21
Goals
9
6
Big chances created
10
9
Assists
8
7
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish midfielder has produced more goals, more ‘big chances’ created, and more assists than both Forrest and Yang combined in the league since the start of last season.
These statistics suggest that the 27-year-old maestro, who was once described as a “game winner” by pundit Marvin Bartley, could make an impact in front of goal from a right wing position, in which he has played 43 matches in the past for other clubs, per Transfermarkt.
McCowan, as Kuhn did last season, would want to cut inside onto his left foot from a right wing position, which would then open more space for Colby Donovan to attack down the right.
Instead of having Yang and Forrest both wanting to go down the line and clogging up the width, McCowan could come infield to draw attention away from the young full-back, who provided an assist against Sturm Graz.
Celtic star who Lennon dubbed "world-class" was even better than Nygren
This Nakamura-esque Celtic star was even better than Benjamin Nygren against Sturm Graz.
ByDan Emery
Donovan, who has created two ‘big chances’ in three Europa League outings, could, therefore, benefit from Rodgers unleashing McCowan as a Kuhn-esque right winger against Hearts on Sunday, with Nygren through the middle as a striker.