Alex McLeish has claimed that Cameron Carter-Vickers could look to return to Tottenham and push for a place in the team instead of signing a permanent deal at Celtic.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a positive spell with the Hoops after joining the club in the summer and has since cemented a place in the heart of the Ange Postecoglou’s defence.
In total, Carter-Vickers has made 24 appearances for Celtic, including 15 starts in the Scottish Premiership.
Earlier this week, the Australian manager reiterated his desire to keep Carter-Vickers at Celtic and urged his side to push to complete a permanent signing for the centre-back.
However, heading into the final half of his agreed contract at Parkhead, McLeish believes the USA international may not commit his future with the Scottish giants and hints he may even return to Spurs to make a final push for first-team action.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I think Carter-Vickers is not in a bad position. He can go back to his parent club, Spurs, take all that experience he’s had at Celtic and really push for a place in the Spurs team.
“Okay, that might be a little bit beyond him at the moment, but it certainly hasn’t done him any harm, the Celtic experience.
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“In the beginning, he looked a bit off the pace, more of a casual look. Since then, he’s really upped his game. You’ve seen what kind of player that he could become.”
Tottenham are said to have valued Carter-Vickers at around £6 million should talks of a permanent move to Celtic come into view.
McLeish feels the valuation is a modest one for a club like Spurs, while it may leave Celtic questioning whether it would be a worthwhile transfer.
He added: “It’s an English fee, isn’t it? It’s probably chicken feed to them.
“We in Scotland would say that is a lot of money for a Scottish club.”
Spurs Web Opinion
In all honesty, it does seem very tough for Carter-Vickers to come back to Spurs and look to break into the first-team line-up on a regular basis.
He seems to be playing week in week out at Celtic which is what he needs at his age, so a permanent move may be the best option at present.
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