The Celtic game-changer who transforms Brendan Rodgers' team as star deemed Parkhead titan amid good form

Former Celtic hero John Hartson has signalled out the one player in Brendan Rodgers’ side that he believes has the most transformative effect out on the pitch.

The Hoops remain unbeaten at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and are firmly in contention to secure a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2013.

Attacking stars such as Nicholas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi are all deservedly getting their fair share of plaudits for Celtic’s sensational start but Hartson believes the player that has the biggest impact on the team is centre back Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The 18-time USA international is unbeaten in all 12 games he has played in this season and was a big miss for Brendan Rodgers side in the 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund, which is so far Celtic’s only loss of the campaign.

Commenting on the qualities of Carter-Vickers, Hartson told Talksport: “Carter Vickers is massive for Celtic. Oh, he’s massive.

“When he plays they are a different side. He goes and gets it off of Kasper Schmeichel, he gets it on the turn and he fizzes it into the front.

“And as you both know as frontmen, you prefer it to be fizzed in, not rolled, then it’s easier to control and he passes it out from the back.

“He’s very, very good. So when he plays, I think Celtic, they look a lot stronger.”

Cameron Carter-Vickers’ record at Celtic

Cameron Carter-Vickers was initially signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the 2021/22 season.

The USA international joined a Celtic team that had finished 25 points behind Rangers the previous season but quickly helped the team regain the league title while making 33 league appearances for Ange Postecoglou’s double winning side.

This prompted the Australian to spend a reported £6m to make the deal permanent and Carter-Vickers proved he was worth the fee with a series of commanding performances as the Hoops lifted a domestic treble in Postecoglou’s final season.

Carter-Vickers helped Brendan Rodgers win a league and Scottish Cup double last term and was included in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for the third season in a row.

Overall, he has been on the winning side of 111 of the 127 matches he’s played for Celtic, drawing 13 and losing 13.

Of those defeats just three have been recorded in the Scottish Premiership in 90 league appearances.