25-year-old Celtic player gets huge a vote of confidence after Champions League announcement

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Celtic have named their Champions League squad this afternoon. [UEFA]

And whilst the omission of Polish u21 defender, Maik Nawrocki, seems to have taken centre stage, one Celtic player has been given a huge vote of confidence by Hoops gaffer, Brendan Rodgers.

25-year-old defender, Liam Scales was surprisingly named in the Celtic squad that is due to take part in the competition that will kick off on the 19th of September against Feyenoord.

Scales was on the fringes of the Celtic first-team this season but injuries to four central defenders meant that the Irishman was thrown in with Gustaf Lagerbielke (who also made the squad) against St Johnstone and Rangers.

In a Man of the Match performance, Scales performed admirably as he helped Celtic defeat their closest rivals 1-0 at Ibrox.

Labelled a ‘warrior’ by Brendan Rodgers at full-time, it seems that Scales may have now played his way into the Hoops boss’s plans this season.

Interestingly, Scales was tipped to play a bit part for the Hoops this season but now, after this announcement, it looks like after two long years in the wilderness, his Celtic career is about to get started.

The Irishman has designs on making the next leap in his career. Scales is keen to get his international career off the ground.

Having represented Ireland at u21 level, the versatile defender is yet to make his full international debut. And that ambition may well have been given a huge shot in the arm this afternoon.

Questions remain around Nawrocki and exactly why he has been left out of the squad. Maybe his injury is more long-term and Rodgers felt it would have been pointless to include him in the squad.

I’m sure we will find out when the Celtic manager holds his pre-match press conference during the week. But for now, Scales can enjoy the fact that he could be about to have his first taste of Champions League football in what has been a remarkable turnaround for the Celtic defender.

In other news, ‘That was the biggest attraction’: Ange Postecoglou explains why he left Celtic for Tottenham