Chris Sutton believes it is harsh to criticise Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo so early in his career at Parkhead and feels the defender deserves time to prove his credentials at Celtic.
The 24-year-old, who made the switch to Celtic from Rapid Vienna this summer, made his home debut against Sarajevo during the Bhoys' Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.
Despite being tipped as the long-term replacement to Arsenal target Kieran Tierney, the full-back enjoyed a mixed bag of fortunes against Sarajevo.
The Belgian was at fault for the visitors’ equaliser in the second half, where his slack back pass allowed them to restore parity, before Callum McGregor sealed the win.
And in the wake of the criticism showered on Bolingoli-Mbombo, Sutton has backed the defender by saying it is harsh to call him out so early on in his Celtic career.
The former Bhoys striker feels it is unfair to judge Bolingoli-Mbombo after just two games and insists he has shown enough to deserve time to prove his credentials at Parkhead.
“It also looks like Celtic will lose their star left back Kieran Tierney, a major influence on the team, with Boli Mbombo his long term replacement”, Sutton wrote in his column for the Daily Record.
“Will the Belgian be as good as Tierney? Probably not but we’re talking about Tierney going on to great things and it’s unfair to judge Mbombo after two games.
“The first game he was chucked in over in Sarajevo after hardly any training and he’s being criticsed by some after a mistake at Parkhead which led to Sarajevo’s consolation goal.
“We’re in an age where we judge players virtually immediately but the guy needs to be given a chance and judged over a period as he had a lot of energy and looked very good physically.”
Celtic will next face Estonian outfit Nomme Kalju in their Champions League second qualifying round.
