Celtic’s decision to sign Kasper Schmeichel on a free transfer in the summer window has paid off. The goalkeeper has impressed for Brendan Rodgers’ side in the league, keeping six clean sheets and conceding one goal from seven matches.
The Denmark international has conceded 11 goals from four games in other competitions. This includes Celtic’s 7-1 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
He kept two clean sheets for his country last month and conceded in their 1-0 defeat to Spain at the weekend. The Celtic stopper was blamed for letting Martín Zubimendi score for La Roja.
Schmeichel has been the first choice for his country for several years. Tipsbladet‘s editor-in-chief Allan Olsen believes the Celtic man is currently not Denmark’s best goalkeeper. His colleague, Emil Bellaiche, has now come out in defence of the former Leicester City star.
“All in all, he played an excellent game, and he looks a bit unlucky in goal. But in his defence, there are two players in front of him so he can’t see anything, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg even saves it. On a really good day, he probably would have taken it, and he has also said himself that he regrets it,” he said.
There’s been a debate in Denmark about Leicester’s Mads Hermansen replacing the 37-year-old. The journalist believes the criticism directed towards the Celtic player isn’t warranted, and backed him to continue as the national team’s No.1 for the time being.
“I think hating Kasper Schmeichel has become somewhat fashionable. People want something new to happen, but I don’t think we need to change already, even if there isn’t much future perspective in him compared to Hermansen. I think he’s doing his thing,” Bellaiche explained.
“There is also this perspective that Schmeichel will be 40 when the World Cup takes place. So, at one point or another you have to make this change, because it is not sustainable if Hermansen has to play his first international matches during the World Cup, if he’s now the one who has to play at that time. So there has to be a change at some point.”
