Viljami Sinisalo has bullishly reminded everyone of his intentions to remain Celtic’s number one goalkeeper…
That’s despite the murmurings in the rumour mill which has been buzzing with potential candidates to replace the now retired Kasper Schmeichel.
Sinisalo stepped in to replace the injured Kasper Schmeichel
The Finnish shot-stopper burst onto the scene for real when his veteran teammate sustained a career-threatening injury, which we now know has forced him into retiring earlier than he had planned.
With the news that Kasper won’t be between the sticks again for Celtic, or any other club for that matter, attention has naturally turned to his successor.
The Great Dane arrived at Celtic Park after Joe Hart’s retirement in the 2023/24 season, with then boss Brendan Rodgers reaching out to his former number one at Leicester City, who was by then playing his football most recently in Begium with Anderlecht.
Brendan Rodgers signed both goalkeepers in summer 2024
Schmeichel answered the Rodgers SOS and replaced the outgoing and much beloved Joe Hart in the Scottish Champions’ side.
It was of course a shrewd move by Brendan Rodgers, as Hart left a massive void in the dressing room and starting line-up, taking a lifetime of experience with him out that door at Celtic Park. That could have been a major issue to replace in the marketplace given our previous antics with goalkeepers before Hart.
Schmeichel subsequently enjoyed a very fitting twilight to his career in the game at Paradise, stacking up the winners medals and trophies en-route to hanging up the gloves.
Sinsalo was brought in as No.2 keeper behind Schmeichel
Viljami Sinisalo, a £1m signing from Aston Villa, had to wait and bide his time until he was finally given that big opportunity in the Hoops’ side. The Finland international has certainly grasped it with both hands, pardon the pun, when news of Kasper was forced to step aside after suffering a career ending injury in the Stuttgart game at Celtic Park.
Vil stepped in impeccably during that Schmeichel absence, earning rave reviews for his decision-making and shot-stopping along the way to a domestic Double.
Now the gloves as Viljami’s and he plans to keep hold of them
Having tasted that success and the access to our number one jersey, Sinisalo is in no mood to ease up, regardless of who the club brings through that door this summer to compete with him and Ross Doohan.
Citing his burning desire to remain top dog in the Celtic goalkeeper department heading into next term, Sinisalo revealed, via Glasgow Times: “I’ve never been content to just watch others play. Getting the jersey for me was a huge opportunity. And when you play for Celtic, you have to perform well if you want to keep your place.”
Fresh off of the back of winning silverware, Vil is aiming to use that positivity as a springboard into the next campaign.
“I want to keep the Celtic shirt”
“So I am going into the new season with a positive mindset,” he continued. “I want to keep the Celtic shirt and try to be part of something successful again. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do and hopefully I can do that at Celtic for a long time.”
That rollercoaster of a season will be remembered for various reasons, some good, some not so good. Despite this though, the ex-Aston Villa man won’t ever forget any of it.
“Crazy things happened during the season”
“Crazy things happened during the season and then in the last few weeks we managed to win two trophies,” a bewildered Sinisalo added. “It was definitely a season that will be remembered in the club’s history. For me, it was an amazing experience.”
Paul Gillespie
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1 Comment
Wouldn’t say that the keeper position is the biggest decision that any potential new manager is going to face over the summer?
The original plan for sinisalo, was to potentially step into the no1 keeper role next season?
Happened a bit earlier than expected with the kasper injury, but here we are now?
Personally haven’t got any issues with sinisalo staying as no1 keeper, as think he has earned the right to do so imo? Think our CB pairing look more comfortable than the erratic kasper at times last season also?
Would say potentially replacing him as a first choice keeper, at this stage, would result in sinisalo wanting to move on also imo? So the real question could be, whether we remain as Doohan as no2 choice, or someone coming in and making a stronger challenge for the no1 Jersey?
Doohan helps with our homegrown quota requirements, but much as Bain done before him, so possibly content in that role at present, i presume?
Don’t know if we actually have got an up and coming youngster, who could fill the 3rd keeper position for next season?
Would potentially allow for the extra outfield player within our 25man European squad? Could even take a bit of pressure off our homegrown quota requirements, that we still seem to struggle with?
Problem remains as a sinisalo and Doohan as a combination, hardly fills ourselves with confidence within the squad position, for an entire season imo?
So still think it will possibly get addressed, even if the outcome isn’t particularly clear at this stage imo?