Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Mike Penders and Robert Sanchez at Chelsea
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Winstanley and Stewart for Chelsea
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
While Shim Mheuka was left on Martin O’Neill’s bench, Emenalo came on to make his Celtic debut. The teenage left-back replaced Kieran Tierney, finally getting his debut after overcoming an injury at Chelsea.
But Celtic fans were not overly impressed. One said on TalkingPoints that he was “well off the pace”. Many feel it will take some time for Emenalo to get up to speed, while others doubted if he has enough quality.
There were serious question marks about his fitness. One fan suggested, “It might be Christmas” before Emenalo is fit enough to make a serious impact at Parkhead. Yes, he was injured, but he needs to be fitter.
Another posted on X: “Slow as treacle. Hopefully he gets up to speed with more games,” while another said: “he looked blown”. One fan even questioned his positioning: “Anyone wanna tell him he plays lb.”
Emenalo needs time to get up to speed for two reasons
The verdict is quite harsh. Not only because Celtic fans will know he has spent the best part of six weeks going through rehab, but also because it was the Cobham graduate’s first-ever senior professional game.
Emenalo has not played for Chelsea’s senior side competitively, and the defender has gone on loan for the first time. Plenty of time needs to be afforded to the defender, and maybe he will come good.
The positives are that Emenalo will get plenty of game time. Celtic are in European football this season, while fighting on four separate fronts. Tierney is injury-prone, and Emenalo will get the chance to shine.
More so than Mheuka, who was an unused sub on Sunday. The striker has plenty of competition ahead of him in the pecking order, and it would be no surprise to see his season-long loan cancelled in January.