Having sealed a £300k move to Celtic last summer, Liam Shaw's career at Parkhead got off to something of a slow start.

Indeed, the 20-year-old went on to make just two appearances for Ange Postecoglou's side in the first half of the season, playing nine minutes of the 0-0 draw with St. Mirren towards the end of December, and making his Europa League debut in the 3-2 win over Real Betis earlier the same month.

In this European tie, the £315k-rated midfielder highly impressed, enjoying 46 touches of the ball, completing 20 passes and three dribbles, as well as making two tackles, two clearances, blocking two shots and winning eight of his 11 duels - with these returns seeing the youngster earn a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 7.1.

However, despite an extremely promising display in his first start for the Bhoys, Postecoglou made the decision to loan the former Sheffield Wednesday starlet out to Motherwell in the January transfer window - where the £4k-per-week dynamo already appears to be making a good impression.

Indeed, prior to making an appearance for the Steelmen, the club's assistant manager, Keith Lasley, suggested that Shaw was impressing in training, stating: "Liam's in training with us and he has been for a few days now. He looks a good athlete and he looks technically good.

"You can see why he's been highly thought of down at Sheffield Wednesday and you can see why Celtic have brought him up. Hopefully he makes an impact in the second half of the season. He looks a good player and I am looking forward to seeing him in action."

And, after three fixtures with Well, the 20-year-old looks to be living up to this early promise, having already made an average of a whopping 4.3 tackles, 0.3 interceptions and 0.6 key passes per game, as well as winning 15 of his 25 duels - a success rate of 60% - with these returns seeing the midfielder average a SofaScore match rating of 6.9.

As such, while it is true that Postecoglou has brought in the likes of Reo Hatate, Matt O'Riley and Yosuke Ideguchi in the middle of the park this season, should Shaw continue his current level of form away from Celtic Park, come the end of the season, the 20-year-old could well find himself ahead of players such as James McCarthy, Ismaila Soro and even Nir Bitton in the defensive midfield pecking order at Parkhead.

Indeed, considering the fact that the £12.5k-per-week midfielder - who Ori Guttman once dubbed an "explosive" player - has been heavily linked with a move away from Celtic in recent months, Postecoglou could already have a readymade replacement for the Ivorian in the shape of Shaw.

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