Celtic No.2 Chris Davies looking forward to working with Lewis Morgan

Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies cannot wait to get to grips with new recruit Lewis Morgan in the summer.

Chris Davies
Published 10th Jan 2018

Scotland Under-21 international Morgan has penned a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Hoops but will spend the rest of this campaign back at former club St Mirren.

Brendan Rodgers' right-hand man Davies has been impressed with the 21-year-old playmaker's recent displays for both club and country and was relieved the Scottish champions managed to beat off competition from south of the border to land the highly-rated youngster.

Morgan's aim now is to help lead the Buddies to the Ladbrokes Championship title but Davies says he is already relishing the chance to mould his talents further.

"I was very pleased," he told the CelticView. "I know as time progressed there was a lot of interest in him down in England as well.

"He is someone I have seen play a few times live for Scotland Under-21s, and he was the standout player on both times, particularly in the game against Holland when he really stood out against a good full-back in terms of his speed, directness and one-v-one ability.

"We are pleased to have him on board. Obviously he is back with St Mirren and we wish them all the best in the rest of their season, but it's an exciting move for Lewis and hopefully it can work out well for him and the club."

Morgan has already proved himself a player who can produce on the big occasion after hitting a double for Saints in their recent top-of-the-table clash with Dundee United.

And Davies has seen enough to suggest he can fit into Celtic's style of play.

"To play in Brendan's teams you can't just be a good player with the ball," added the Hoops assistant manager. "It's what you do without the ball and how you work for the team. You need to be selfless and be able to press, especially as an attacking player in how you press the ball at the top end of the pitch.

"Tactically he has an understanding of how to do that and he's certainly got the mentality to work hard for the team as well. He's a hard-working player but he also has a lot of technical quality on the ball.

"He's a direct player who wants to go into the duel and run at players, and that's something the fans like to see as well - an attack-minded player who has confidence in his abilities.

"He fits what we want from the wide players so we're looking forward to him coming in the summer and getting going.