Dedryck Boyata will come back to Celtic a better player than the one who left after his experience in Russia at the World Cup – and the same will go for all four Celtic players who are over there.

The Belgian defender has fared well so far over in Russia and I have to say that I felt as though the partnership between him and Kristoffer Ajer was one that looked promising last season. Ajer, for me, is a player of real potential. I thought he was excellent at times last season, something that was underlined by his international call-ups.

I think that Boyata has worked hard to eliminate the mistakes that he was prone to and there is no doubt that being in the kind of company that he is over in Russia that he will return to Celtic a better player.

It will be interesting to see just what happens with Jozo Simunovic over the next few months. I am not sure how that will play out but there are options in there for the season starting. There is still an expectancy that there will be further defensive cover brought in but I always think that it takes a while to get things moving, particularly when there is a major tournament going on.