Celtic Fan View: Should Bhoys cash in on Scott Sinclair?

Any Celtic fan having a read of their Sunday paper would have noticed the speculation surrounding Scott Sinclair’s future at the club. Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion are apparently weighing up the 29-year-old’s situation at Parkhead. Not so long ago this news would have sent some fans into panic mode, but such is Sinclair’s drastic drop in form, many Hoops fans are open to the idea of cashing in on the winger this summer.

It’s a peculiar case, with most unable to fathom how a one can go from sweeping all of last year’s Player of the Year awards to looking like a shadow of that player. The Parkhead faithful haven’t been too kind to Sinclair of late, either. In the aftermath of Celtic’s 3-2 derby victory against Rangers earlier this month, the forward was verbally abused at Glasgow Airport while he waited for a flight to London.

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The following week he was guilty of missing a sitter in the stalemate with Motherwell, which only heightened the feeling of frustration among the fans. As a Brendan Rodgers signing, you’d think the manager would keep faith with his star player. Instead, Rodgers hasn’t hesitated to drop the Englishman, who looks like being on the fringes for the remainder of the campaign.

Sinclair hasn’t completed 90 minutes in more than a month, while he hasn’t scored since the end of January. Perhaps what’s more startling and indicative of his poor form is how often he’s been substituted at half-time in games where Celtic are struggling. He’s been hooked at the interval against Anderlecht and Morton, and was substituted in the 55th minute at Kilmarnock last month, which suggests Rodgers’ patience is wearing thin.

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He also didn’t feature in two huge games against Zenit St.Petersburg and Rangers, which would have seemed unimaginable at the start of the season. The chief reason for this deterioration is probably complacency. After a barnstorming opening campaign, it’s likely that Sinclair took the Scottish game lightly and, after a difficult period, has found it difficult to recover his form.

Opponents have also set up differently against the champions this term, sitting in a deep block and denying the Bhoys space in behind to penetrate. The main victim of this has been Sinclair, unable to utilise his searing pace to beat defences with space at a premium. Even on the counter-attack, the Hoops haven’t been as lethal as last year, which is how Sinclair scored a high percentage of his 25 goals.

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Despite netting a very respectable 17 goals in 2017/18, you have to look beyond sheer numbers and admit Sinclair’s overall performances have been well below par. The Englishman’s spark, energy and creativity has been severely lacking. His displays in Europe were pretty disappointing, too, when so much hope was placed in him. The winger’s confidence has evidently taken a hit, while many supporters have been unimpressed by his disinterested attitude.

So, should the Bhoys cash in on Sinclair this summer? Glasgow was always going to be a stepping stone for the former Manchester City man, a place where he could rebuild his career after a few disappointing seasons in the Premier League. He’s done that to an extent and, while the club can still make a significant profit on their £4 million investment, it makes sense to sell someone who clearly doesn’t want to be there in the coming years.