Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes Calvin Miller can follow in the footsteps of former Chelsea star Ryan Bertrand in becoming a successful left-back.

Miller made his senior Celtic debut on Tuesday night after he started in the Hoops’ 1-0 win over Partick Thistle in a Scottish Premiership game.




The 18-year-old, who is primarily a forward, played as a left-back against the Jags; he was recently slotted into that position for the development squad.

And Rodgers revealed that while he was in charge of Chelsea’s youth team, he successfully converted Bertrand into a left-back from a winger.
 


Bertrand, who now plays at Southampton, went on to make his England debut playing as a left-back and also helped Chelsea to a Champions League, a Europa League and an FA Cup by featuring in the full-back role.

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Similarly, Rodgers feels Miller can also develop into a successful left-back as he explained that he sees similar traits in the teenager to those he saw in Bertrand.

“Calvin’s a kid that I’ve been impressed with because he really wants to learn, he wants to develop and I did a similar thing when I was at Chelsea with Ryan Bertrand”, the manager told Celtic’s official site.

“We took Ryan from Gillingham into Chelsea and he came in as a left-winger in the same team as Scott Sinclair, who was a striker.

“I moved Scotty wide and put Ryan at left-back, and Ryan went on and played for England and won the Champions League with Chelsea.

"He's now at Southampton, and he’s an outstanding player.

“And I see similar traits in Calvin where he can do that one position behind, but he’s only 18 so he needs time to develop, learn the position, learn the role, but he’s got some outstanding qualities that can offer the club something going forward.”

Miller’s present contract with Celtic runs until the summer of 2019.