Start Mheuka Tonight – Celtic Need to See What He Can Really Do

I think Stuart Mheuka should start tonight.

There is a temptation to ease him into things. Give him another 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there and allow him to gradually find his feet.

But with Kasper Høgh returning from injury, two games against Castle Greyskull coming up and the Europa League opener against Ferencváros on the horizon, I think tonight is the perfect opportunity to give Mheuka a proper chance.

And, frankly, he has done enough in his cameos to earn it.

His disallowed goal against St Mirren is still baffling me.

I genuinely cannot see how that was offside.

Regardless of the decision, the important thing was what Mheuka did in the situation. He found himself in the right area, attacked the ball and showed the instinct you want from a striker.

Then came his cameo against Aberdeen.

The thing that stood out wasn’t necessarily a goal or an assist.

It was the power.

Mheuka looked physically capable of competing at this level. He was strong, aggressive and willing to run into challenges. There was a presence about him that Celtic have sometimes lacked.

That is enough for me to want to see more.

With Høgh coming back, the obvious temptation would be to put the Dane straight back into the team.

I’m not against that. Høgh has already shown what he can bring.

But we also have to think beyond tonight.

We’ve got two games against Castle Greyskull coming up.

We’ve got our Europa League campaign beginning against Ferencváros.

Those games will demand physicality, running power and players who can cause problems for defenders.

Mheuka might be able to give us something different.

And that’s exactly why tonight matters.

Put Durán on the left, Hassan on the right and Mheuka through the middle.

Let Mheuka play with two aggressive, direct wide players around him.

Let him run the channels.

Let him bully defenders.

Let him attack crosses.

Let him show whether those flashes we’ve seen from the bench can translate into a full 90 minutes.

Because ultimately, we won’t know what we’ve got until we actually give him the opportunity.

Celtic have spent plenty of money looking for attacking solutions.

Sometimes the answer isn’t another signing.

Sometimes it’s sitting on the bench.

Mheuka has already given me enough in limited minutes to earn a start.

Tonight, I want to see what he can do with a proper opportunity.

Start the kid. Let him make his case.