Cameron Carter-Vickers: Celtic centre-back is 'best defender in Scotland', says Ange Postecoglou
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Cameron Carter-Vickers nodded in Celtic's third goal at Tynecastle on Saturday
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou hailed centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers as the Scottish Premiership's "best defender" following his side's Scottish Cup quarter-final victory over Hearts.
The 25-year-old scored the third goal at Tynecastle in Celtic's 3-0 win, which booked the Viaplay Cup holders a semi-final place at Hampden.
Since his initial loan arrival from Tottenham in August 2021, the United States cap has become a key player for Postecoglou, who believes there is no better defender in Scotland.
"He's been outstanding from the moment we signed him," the Celtic boss told BBC Scotland. "He's a really great defender. In our back four, you need to do a lot of one-on-one defending. Physically, he's as strong as anyone.
"He's got great awareness and he's a really intelligent footballer in terms of understanding the game in the areas he needs to protect."
'He's got a bit of everything'
Postecoglou would certainly have plenty of evidence if anyone was willing to dispute his point.
Domestically, Celtic have lost just twice in 69 games while Carter-Vickers has been involved. Both came last season. One was at Livingston 18 months ago, the other was an extra-time defeat by Rangers in last term's Scottish Cup semi-final.
This campaign alone, no defender betters the 12 clean sheets the former Bournemouth man has been part of in the Premiership.
The ex-Tottenham centre-back, who had seven different loans during his six years with the Premier League club, has won possession for his side 162 times across 25 games. Again, no other defender boasts a better tally than that.
There is also so much demanded of Carter-Vickers on the ball, with Celtic dominating possession in almost every domestic game they play. No centre-back has attempted (2,171) or completed more (1,998) passes than the US international, who has 12 caps to his name and went to the World Cup in Qatar.
Some feel the defender, who made his loan move to Celtic a permanent one last summer, perhaps goes under the radar. Postecoglou certainly doesn't agree with that.
The praise Postecoglou's side often receive is in relation to their attacking players, but former Celtic striker John Hartson believes Carter-Vickers' "consistency" makes him equally as important.
"He very rarely does anything wrong," Hartson said on Viaplay. "He wins most of his headers against all types of strikers. He isn't the tallest, but he's got a great leap. He's brave, he carries the ball out of defence.
"He's got a bit of everything and he's been a great signing."
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