He's not Hazard! - Rodgers eases pressure on Arzani

Brendan Rodgers has moved to ease pressure on new signing Daniel Arzani, insisting it will take time for the youngster to find his feet at Celtic.

Arzani

Daniel Arzani during a training session with Celtic Source: @CelticLisboaa (Twitter)

The 19-year-old set tails wagging midweek with a fantastic free-kick in the reserve side's 2-0 win over Aberdeen, a performance fans hope will soon translate to the first team on a consistent basis.

However, speaking ahead of the Hoops' Scottish Premiership clash with Kilmarnock on Sunday night (AEST), Rodgers refused to entertain such expectations surrounding his newest Socceroo.

"He came out of nowhere and went to the World Cup, became the youngest player there," Rodgers said.

"All of a sudden there’s a spotlight on him, so this is about him taking a step back into reality again."

Arzani played a total of 60 minutes across three appearances for the Socceroos in Russia before joining the Scottish giants on a two-year loan deal from Manchester City, and Rodgers urged the public to be patient with his development.

"This is a boy who had never played 90 minutes of senior football, but people are expecting him to come in and be like Eden Hazard or Harry Kewell," he added.

"Sorry to burst the bubble, but he needs a bit of time to build up his fitness and confidence.

"He’s adapting to a new country after hardly being out of Australia.

"And he’s still only 19. I’m sure in time he’ll prove to be a very very good young player."

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2 min read
Published 23 September 2018 2:32pm
By SBS The World Game
Source: SBS

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