Loan stint could help Kouassi become a shining light, says Rodgers
BELATEDLY offering his best wishes for the New Year to his 28,000 Twitter followers yesterday, Eboue Kouassi garlanded his online greeting with a spectacular fireworks display.
Notwithstanding the incredible degree of bad luck the young Ivorian has encountered since moving to Glasgow exactly a year ago, it is fair to say he has never come close to lighting up Celtic Park in such a fashion.
The extent to which Kouassi has, so far, fallen short of reaching even modest expectations can be measured in two ways.
Firstly, of the 13 players Brendan Rodgers has signed at Celtic, only two — Scott Sinclair and Olivier Ntcham — have cost more. Celtic just don’t take punts at £3million.
Secondly, Rodgers’ view of the former Krasnodar player at the time of his capture was of someone who not only had a ‘Champions League mentality’ but who ‘was ready’. That remains to be seen.
It must be said, though, that the 20-year-old is entitled to a degree of leeway. He tested positive for malaria shortly after his unveiling, injured his ankle in pre-season training — and then again against Kilmarnock in a Betfred Cup tie in August.
The upshot has been a sum total of just nine appearances in 12 months, with just four starts. Two unused sub appearances aside, the last sighting of him was as a late replacement for Ntcham in the Parc des Princes in November.
The difficulty for any player in such circumstances is that life goes on without you. While Rodgers’ faith in a player he claimed to have been sold on after just ten seconds remains undiminished, it is clear the Celtic manager is countenancing shipping him out on loan in the second half of the campaign.
‘He needs to be playing,’ admitted the Celtic manager. ‘We’ll see in January, but you need to weigh it up. It’s a bit like Kris Ajer last season. We can keep him around the squad, but he might not play so much. If he goes out and plays, it will improve him.
‘Ryan Christie is another example. Do you keep him around the periphery, or do I send him out to Aberdeen to Derek (McInnes), where he had a nice six months?
‘In Eboue’s case, I’m not sure of the benefits of being around if he’s not going to play so much.
‘Does he go and play 20-odd games somewhere in the second half of the season and then come back in the summer?’
By this stage in proceedings, Rodgers doubtless anticipated the player frequently exchanging handshakes to replace Scott Brown late in games on the touchline.
Yet, even at 32, the Celtic skipper remains a force of nature. He’s played 32 times for club and country already this season and is deep into Player of the Year nominee territory.
Even if Kouassi had been fully fit, opportunities would still have been limited.
‘Eboue was brought in and he plays a specific role — the Scott Brown role,’ explained Rodgers. ‘It just so happens to be the captain, who’s been brilliant.
‘It has been difficult. Scott is one I’ve taken out the odd time and got Eboue in, but there’s no doubt he hasn’t played a number of games.
‘It’s not because of him, it’s because of the form of our captain.
‘Eboue’s one who is brilliant in training. He does everything and, longer term, he will certainly fulfil that role when Scott moves on.
‘But while we wait for that, we need to ensure Eboue is developing and improving. That might mean game-time in the second part of the season.’
After all the hype that surrounded his arrival, Kouassi’s first start against Partick Thistle in April proved a predictably nervous affair.
‘After the first five minutes, I thought we had signed his brother,’ quipped Rodgers at the time.
But the Celtic manager has no doubts that a forgettable first year for the player at Celtic will eventually be viewed in context.
Under contract at the club until 2021, Kouassi certainly has an abundance of time to belatedly produce those fireworks on the field.
‘Eboue had an unfortunate start as he had a difficult first six months,’ said Rodgers.
‘He came in and was ill. He was adapting to a new country and new language. He didn’t need to adapt to the cold as he was out in Siberia!
‘But it was about adapting and playing. He had the malaria when he arrived, but worked hard and virtually had no time off in the summer.
‘He looked great in pre-season training, but then got injured before we set off for Austria.
‘He was out for a good few weeks, but came back and looked really good. He played well against Sunderland and Lyon.
‘You can clearly see the talent he has, but he’s a specific type of player, a defensive midfielder. He’s a fantastic player, but it’s one we need to think about.’
Another player whose future will occupy Rodgers’ thoughts during the club’s winter training camp in Dubai is Kundai Benyu.
Signed on a four-year deal from Ipswich last summer, the player’s fourth and last appearance for Celtic came at Kilmarnock in mid-August and it looks as though Rodgers is preparing to send him on loan to Oldham.
‘Benyu is one we’ll gauge,’ he admitted. ‘We brought him in as a development player, but he showed up really well in pre-season. It’s one, do we stick him out on loan, even though he’s just here, or do we give him six months to get a feel for Celtic, the size of the club, the demands and the training?
‘He’s had all of that, with some first-team experiences. He’s a good kid, but he needs to play.’