Watched closely by Roberto Martinez during Celtic’s game against Anderlecht in the Champions League, Dedryck Boyata clearly impressed, since he’s been called back up to the Belgium national team.
Selected by the former Everton manager for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Cyprus, the Celtic defender was chosen over the likes of Christian Kabasele and Jason Denayer.
While the Manchester City loanee has barely featured for Galatasaray this season, the Watford centre-back has become a regular feature under Marco Silva, and can certainly feel hard done by, even if Boyata has played well for the Bhoys since his return.
Relayed by Le Soir in Belgium, the defender said: “I played my first game in mid-September, and have played a few more in a row since. September was important. To be selected, it’s a little victory for me”.
As for Martinez’s decision to pick him over the aforementioned two, the 26-year-old isn’t quite sure why, but he certainly isn’t going to complain.
He continued: “If I’m here, it’s because the manager sees something in me. Every call-up is important, and when I’m here, I make the most of every moment. My objective is always the same: show what I can do on the pitch”.
With three 90 minute games under his belt over the past week, Boyata should be close to getting back to his best, but that doesn’t guarantee the Celtic defender a spot in the starting line-up.
Ending by saying he would be ‘disappointed’ if he didn’t play a part in the upcoming couple of games, Boyata knows it’s up to him to ensure he does, much like he did at Celtic under Brendan Rodgers.
