Last week Ronny Deila suggested that Celtic were taking an interest in Hearts captain Danny Wilson.

Since then Danny Wilson had a bit of an off day against Rangers at Ibrox on Easter Sunday. That performance had Celtic fans worried and Hearts fans convinced that his sale could be easily managed.

I think it’s extremely unfair to judge a player on one performance, especially when Hearts had already celebrated winning the Championship title and Rangers were in more desperate need for a win.

In all honesty Wilson has had a superb season this term for the Jambos and has been one of the cornerstones in their great title winning success.

He’s an intelligent centre-back, who can come out with the ball from the back and also play a nice pass. He also has a decent amount of pace. The fact he’s naturally suited on the left can be a huge bonus.

You’d imagine Celtic will be on the lookout for a new central defender, Deila has said as much “We are looking for central defenders, it’s an important target.”

The Norwegian manager seems reluctant to place Efe Ambrose in the heart of Celtic’s defence, instead he prefers to stick the Nigerian on the right. But Ambrose is still wanted at Parkhead with Celtic dismissing bids for him in January.

Virgil van Dijk’s Celtic future always comes under scrutiny when a transfer window opens. The reason is quite simple, Dutchman is an extremely talented defender. The twenty-three year old has made all the right noises about staying in Glasgow but would that change if a big offer comes in from England?

Belgian international Jason Denayer has impressed this season. But he’s only at Celtic on loan. His parent club Manchester City have had problems in defence this campaign and they may see Denayer as a good back-up for next season. Even if City send Denayer out on loan again, maybe back to the ‘Hoops’, it would probably come at the end of Man City’s preseason and Celtic will need someone ready for the Champions League qualifiers in July.

So even with all three of those stars staying at Celtic, I still think Deila will want another centre-back in his squad.

Now Hearts will only sell for the right price. That’s understandable.

But if the Scottish Champions can agree a fee with the Championship winners, then I believe Danny Wilson needs to head back to Glasgow.

The twenty-three year old started his career playing at Celtic’s biggest rivals Rangers at the age of seventeen. He came in as a composed youngster who looked easy on the ball and undaunted by his quick rise to fame. In his only season in the Gers first team, he made fourteen league appearances, ten in the domestic cups and two in the Champions League.

His performances were not too dissimilar to a young Alan Hansen. They also caught the eye of Liverpool, who quickly signed him up for a £2m deal. That move was quickly followed by Wilson getting his first international cap for Scotland, where he grabbed a goal on his debut against the Faroe Islands.

But unfortunately his move to Liverpool came at a time when the ‘Reds’ were in a bit of a frantic state. Roy Hodgson had a disappointing stint in charge at Anfield and he was replaced by Kenny Dalglish who struggled to improve Liverpool’s league position.

Wilson did make some appearances but they were limited and he was often shifted out to left-back. That seemed to halt the young Scot’s progress and he became confused by the change of position. Disappointing loan spells followed and he could never reignite his floundering Liverpool career.

After three years at Anfield, he was allowed to leave Liverpool on a free and was back up north, signing for Hearts.

Even though things were traumatic last season at Tynecastle and the ‘Jambos’ suffered relegation, Wilson was made captain and impressed. He showed commitment to the cause by sticking with Hearts during this campaign as he continued to rebuild his career.

The truth is quite simple, Danny left Rangers too soon and went to a big club before he was ready. He wasn’t the first nor will he be the last.

But thankfully he’s found his form again and that’s why bigger clubs like Celtic have taken an interest once again.

If Danny Wilson wants to be the best player that he can be, then he has to make that move to Celtic Park. It would get him back to the big stage, where he can now appreciate it more and show the hunger to succeed. The fact he was a former Gers player shouldn’t come into his thinking. Nor should it put off the Celtic faithful.

With Deila in charge, Scottish talent is once again shining at Celtic Park. Wilson could flourish as Scott Brown, Craig Gordon, Kris Commons, Leigh Griffiths, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay Steven have under the Norwegian’s tutelage.

A move to the Scottish Premiership leaders would also see the centre-back playing on the continental stage once again. That’s where every player should be aiming for! If he does move to Parkhead and he gets into the team and shows he capable in that environment once again, then he can force his way into the thoughts of Gordon Strachan.

Although Scotland have seen an upturn in fortunes since Strachan took-over in 2013, we still lack a talented, young, pacey centre-back. Wilson is still our best hope of coming good and excelling in that position, in my opinion.

So I really hope if he gets the chance, Danny Wilson can make the next step up and once and for all show he really can become that great player we all were hoping for back in 2009!

Posted on April 7th, 2015 by scott
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