We haven’t seen too much of Charly Musonda since the playmaker arrived at the club in January – but it’s way too early to make any kind of judgement on him just yet.

There was that little glimpse with his delicate ball into Callum McGregor in the home game against Zenit back in Ferbruary but since then he has rarely been sighted.

Brendan Rodgers was pretty keen on getting Musonda, having pursued him from when he first got into the job at Celtic. So it is clear that he rates the lad pretty highly.

But the fact that he signed an 18-month loan deal would suggest that there will be ample time for Musonda to come to the fore. You have to remember that when Patrick Roberts first arrived at Celtic he did not walk straight into the first-team.

It took a few months for him to settle and I don’t think that is too unusual.

There are similarities between the two players too. Both have that light-weight frame and while Roberts was slightly younger that Musonda when he first arrived at Celtic under Ronny Deila, he still needed some time to adjust to the rigours of Scottish football.

Musonda has not been on Rodgers’ wanted list all of this time for nothing. He clearly believes that the player has something about him and it will be over the summer and into the qualifiers where you would really expect that he could come to the fore.

The other thing about Musonda is that when he first arrived at the club the treatment room was jam packed. A lot of those players have started to get back to fitness and are pushing to get back into the squad.

At this stage of the season when you are pushing for titles and for silverware, everyone wants to play. As a manager it is a nice headache to have.

The reason that Celtic got Musonda in the first place is because the path to the senior team at Chelsea is clearly congested with not just the sheer volume of players that are there but also the quality.

Musonda has come to Celtic to play but I think he will know himself that he has a bit of time to settle himself into the club and then push on from there.

Celtic have sealed their seventh league title win and what you would imagine over the next few months is that there will be greater exposure for those who have been on the fringes of the senior team.

That might open the door to a bit more game time for the boy but if that doesn’t materialise just yet then you have to be aware that an 18-month deal gives a bit of leeway for him.

I always think that you have to remember that a manger is watching players day in, day out on the training ground and with an all-seeing eye. Rodgers himself will know when the lad is ready to go in and make a sustained claim for a first-team spot.

At this minute in time there is a push of players heading back into the squad and the only real player whom you would say is safe in the middle of the park is Scott Brown.

The others are in a fight for the jersey with Tom Rogic and Stuart Armstrong as well as Roberts all knocking on the door again.

Armstrong is another who will be keen to make an impression between now and the end of the campaign. This time last year you would have felt that as his contract ran down that he had the upper hand given his form over the piece but this term has been a bit more problematic.

I have some sympathy because having gone under the knife to correct a hernia problem there is a chance that would have stifled him when he was playing. But ultimately you feel that there just isn’t the same impetus and drive in terms of his contract situation that there was last summer.

Rogic too has not signed another deal although he has the benefit of the exposure that his involvement in the World Cup can bring.

Dedryck Boyata is another who is hedging his bets this summer as his contract enters into its latter stages. The defender will be hoping to make the cut for the Belgian squad this summer with the possibility always there of putting himself in the shop window. So far as Celtic are concerned it is business as usual. They have done their part and the ball now is in the court of the player. I can’t see that Rodgers will allow anything to distract from the focus of pushing to try and capture a second successive treble.