Opinion: Celtic Must Retain Services Of Key Defender | OneFootball

There has been a worrying rumour circling Paradise in the last week, regarding Cameron Carter-Vickers and potential interest from West Ham United. The USA international has reportedly caught the eye of the English Premier League outfit and the London club are said to be keen to secure his services. If Celtic want to progress in Europe then they simply cannot sell.

Carter-Vickers is a leader and has taken the captain’s armband whenever McGregor has been off the field. I would regard him as our most important player and by far our best defender.

At times when he has been ruled out through injury, I feel Celtic have missed the centre half more than any other player – including McGregor. Indeed, Carter-Vickers’ absences in European games have been a key factor to our poor points tallies in recent Champions League groups, I would suggest.

With the Southend born man in the side, any centre half partnering him looks much more comfortable. Could Liam Scales have slotted in so well beside anyone else? Was Carl Starfelt as good as their formidable partnership suggests? In my opinion it was down to Carter-Vickers’ calming, solid presence that those players performed well.

Without Cameron in the team, Celtic look vulnerable; the defence poor. However, when McGregor, Kyogo and other star players have been missing we have still been able to cope. Quite simply, we cannot succeed with a weak defence in Europe.

Celtic are in the strongest financial position for years. We will never have a better time, in the modern era, to push the boat out for continental progression. Therefore, we must retain the services of Cameron Carter-Vickers if we have any ambition. Any sale will be an inadequate price to replace him with a realistic like for like option.