Celtic Fan View: Time for Charly Musonda to sink or swim

When Celtic announced the signing of Charly Musonda from Chelsea during the latter stages of the January transfer window, there was an understandable amount of excitement among the Hoops’ faithful. A player of pure natural ability, who had thrilled La Liga in a loan spell with Real Betis, arrived to bolster an already strong and technically-gifted attack. It was a signing that was seen as a coup for the Bhoys and that few people thought could go wrong.

Life in the rough and tough Scottish Premiership hasn’t proved to be so straightforward for the 21-year-old, however. If there’s a phrase that sums up Musonda’s time in Glasgow so far, it would probably be ‘flashes of brilliance’. There’s no doubting Musonda possesses an abundance of skill but his levels of consistency have fallen way short of the standard expected at the champions.

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The Belgian’s best moment in a green and white jersey undoubtedly came in the Europa League against Zenit St Petersburg when he produced an exquisite assist for Callum McGregor’s winning goal. But what’s more concerning is how minimal Musonda’s impact has been in other games. In the two league matches he’s started, Celtic have failed to score, while he hasn’t featured at all in five of the last six games.

Musonda recently admitted that he’s finding the environment difficult, but he’s not ready to give up. “It has been really hard, but I expected that,” he said. “I will learn from this between now and the end of the season. Next season I will get better and bring more to Celtic. This is why I am here, it’s a great experience to be at this great club.”

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Even the Chelsea loanee’s national team boss, Roberto Martinez, felt the need to defend the youngster. “With his talent, the Celtic fans will see a footballer they can fall in love with. Eighteen months is going to give Charly the time to settle in and to understand Brendan Rodgers and the way he wants to play. There must be a real desire now from Charly to be on the pitch and express himself.”

Martinez’s last line is key. This is a testing situation for Musonda but if he’s to succeed at Celtic, then his mental strength is crucial. He may have all the talent but if he doesn’t have a positive attitude to match it, then he won’t fulfil the huge potential he possesses. Between now and the end of the season he should knuckle down and understand what Rodgers demands of him.

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Getting himself back on the pitch is a start. Musonda came off the bench in the win against Hamilton Accies, albeit for just a couple of minutes, as the Hoops protected a one-goal lead. From now until May, he must make of the most of every minute he’s given and contribute something to build his confidence and take some momentum into next season.

Having a full pre-season with the squad should help his cause but, make no mistake, it will be time for Musonda to sink or swim in the early months of 2018/19 as Celtic aim to gain qualification to the Champions League. After all, Musonda was signed to be a difference-maker on the big stage.