Four reasons why Stuart Armstrong is the most exciting player in Scotland

Celtic players have been no strangers to praise this season. Still in the middle of their phenomenal unbeaten domestic streak, every plaudit that could have come their way over the last eight months has.

Whether it’s as a collectively, or individually, there’s lots of love for Brendan Rodgers’ outfit, even beyond the scope of the Celtic support.

Players like Moussa Dembele, Scott Sinclair and Kieran Tierney have drawn praise for their season, and rightly so, but there’s one man who is emerging as a contender to steal their thunder by the end of the campaign.

Stuart Armstrong has been the low-key hero of Scottish football this season, gradually emerging as one of the finest midfielders the country has from a position on the fringes of the first-team squad at Celtic Park.

You might be asking yourself, even if you’re a Hoops fan, why is this man so special? We have the answers.

Here are FOUR reasons why Armstrong is the most exciting player in Scotland right now…

His goalscoring ability from midfield

As noted, Moussa Dembele is having a fantastic season in Celtic colours, scoring 32 goals so far. That’s a great return in a debut campaign, but then, after all, it is his job to bang them in.

Likewise, Scott Sinclair has the freedom to devote himself to attack and commit in the final third, knowing that the ever impressive Kieran Tierney is there to protect him at left-back.

For Armstrong, though, he has the task of asserting himself in the midfield and also impacting on the game in the final third. He’s an all-rounder, up and down the pitch, always at the centre of the action.

Despite this responsibility, he’s still managed to bag himself 12 goals this season and assist another five. That’s 17 direct goal contributions from midfield, which, as anyone will tell you, is a fantastic return for a midfielder.

He may not hit the headlines as often as Dembele or Sinclair, but behind those two and Leigh Griffiths, there’s been no-one deadlier for Celtic this season.

A born leader

Armstrong is a leader on the pitch every time he plays, even though he’s only ever worn the Celtic armband once. Like club captain Scott Brown, that inherent desire to drag the Hoops forward comes naturally to the former Dundee United man and on more than one occasion this season he’s been the key driving force behind Celtic winning instead of dropping points or even losing.

That makes him one of the most important players in Celtic’s short-term and long-term future. Retaining his talent could be rewarded with a career from the 25-year-old that rivals any talent that has passed through the Parkhead gates in recent years.

Whether he becomes a future captain or not, the Hoops need players like him around to drag them forwards, to instil that winning mentality into the core of the squad.

The ‘best ever’ Scottish debut

If his credentials as an exciting prospect needed boosting further than you needn’t look farther than comments this week from Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.

As anyone would agree, the former Celtic boss has been around the block and knows a thing or two about Scottish football.

It was high praise indeed then when he singled out Armstrong’s performance on his Scotland debut against Slovenia on Sunday in his post-match comments.

As quoted by The Scotsman, Strachan said:

“I have to say I thought Stuart Armstrong could have had the best Scottish debut we’ve ever seen.”

Armstrong was immense on the night, rushing forward in the closing moments, beating his man and then sliding a perfect pass to Chris Martin to net the winner.

Super stuff and another sign there’s no-one more worthy of praise in Scottish football right now.

His determination to turn around his Celtic career

Perhaps more than any other current regular starter in Brendan Rodgers’ team, Armstrong has had to fight for his future at Celtic Park.

On the fringes of Ronny Deila’s team and subsequently Rodgers’, there was a point last year when it looked like he may not make it as a Celtic player full stop.

Confronting his problems at the club, he found a way forward by devoting himself to impressing Rodgers in a more central area of the pitch, as opposed to on the left where he’d predominately featured for the Norwegian.

Instead of complaining, or throwing a tantrum, he just got on with it, worked harder and got his reward. How refreshing is that in modern football?

Not only does he have the ability but it’s clear he has the mentality to be a player of the highest quality for Celtic.