The Merseyside derby faces postponement concerns (Credits: Imago Images)
Celtic winger Camilo Duran appeared distracted during Sunday’s crushing 3-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final defeat to Rangers, according to pundit Michael Stewart.
Stewart believes the Colombian forward was unsettled by being moved back out to a wide position by manager Martin O’Neill for the high-profile clash.
Duran, 24, has made an electric start to life at Parkhead since his £6 million move from Qarabag, scoring six goals and contributing three assists in his first 10 matches across all competitions.
The arrival of Kasper Hogh in a £12 million deal meant Duran was primarily deployed in a wide attacking role, with the Danish international leading the line for the Hoops.
However, when Hogh missed recent victories over Falkirk, Aberdeen and St Mirren through injury, Duran was given an opportunity through the middle and responded impressively.
The Colombian bagged three goals and two assists during that central spell, raising questions about where he is best utilised within O’Neill’s system.
Stewart, speaking on the Premier Sports Scottish Football Social Club, noted that Hogh had struggled for form before the derby, saying: “Kasper Hogh has now had a number of games where he has looked off it, and in big games (too).”
Stewart then turned his attention to Duran’s display against Rangers, adding: “Initially when he was playing off that right hand side, he looked lively, energised and really good. But to me on Sunday, it looked like the fact he was not playing through the middle was playing on his mind a little bit.”
The pundit outlined the growing complexity facing Celtic’s coaching staff when selecting their attacking lineup, pointing to the emergence of another forward option.
Stewart explained the puzzle clearly, saying: “From Celtic’s perspective, that dynamic is now not as certain as it looked a few weeks ago. They are trying to find out how you get all of that together. Hassan looks like a guy you are going to start but now it’s a case of ‘what side are you playing Hassan on? Where is Duran going to play and is Kasper Hogh going to be the guy to lead the line?”
Record Sport columnist Chris Sutton had described Celtic as looking like flat-track bullies following the Rangers defeat, a damning assessment of their performance under the derby spotlight.
Stewart echoed those concerns, suggesting that Celtic’s difficulties in the middle third of the pitch were central to their problems against their city rivals on Sunday.
The 3-0 defeat has piled pressure on O’Neill to resolve his attacking selection headache before Celtic’s next significant fixture, with the Duran question now impossible to ignore.
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