Scott Sinclair: Steven Gerrard would get '˜a buzz' at Celtic

Scott Sinclair believes signing for Celtic would provide Steven Gerrard with renewed motivation at the end of his playing career.

Steven Gerrard is leaving LA Galaxy and would enhance Celtic, says Scott Sinclair. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

Former Liverpool and England captain Gerrard, who yesterday confirmed he is leaving Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the year, has been linked with a move to the Scottish champions.

The 36-year-old recently admitted he found it difficult to adapt to aspects of the game in the United States, including the travel and challenging conditions involved in the MLS schedule.

With a return to the UK now looking likely for Gerrard at the start of 2017, he has been linked with potential reunions with two of his former Liverpool managers – Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and Rafael Benitez at Newcastle United.

Scott Sinclair believes Steve Gerrard could have a huge impact if he signed for Celtic. Picture: SNS

Celtic winger Sinclair is enthusiastic about the prospect of Gerrard becoming a team-mate in Glasgow where he feels the midfielder would thrive.

“Any player coming here would get a buzz from it,” said Sinclair. “Everyone I speak to can’t believe what Celtic Park is like on a big match day or night.

“He [Gerrard] would definitely enhance our squad. He is a world-class player. A player of his calibre coming into this club would be unbelievable for the fans and everyone around Celtic.

“It would be great for all of the players here who would look up to him and for the young players who would learn from him. It would be massive if he did come here.”

Scott Sinclair believes Steve Gerrard could have a huge impact if he signed for Celtic. Picture: SNS

Sinclair, meanwhile, is optimistic Celtic can retain the services of precocious striker Moussa Dembele for some time to come, regardless of the widening appreciation of his talent throughout Europe.

The 20-year-old, who has already scored 16 times for Celtic in his first season at the club following his £500,000 summer move from Fulham, further enhanced his reputation on Monday night when he struck twice for the French under-21 side in their 3-2 win over England.

Dembele has inevitably been linked with a horde of leading European clubs but Sinclair, whose own big-money move to Manchester City in 2012 failed to bring him fulfilment on the pitch, hopes his young Celtic team-mate weighs up his next career move carefully.

“I hope Moussa stays here for a lot longer,” said Sinclair. “He’s only 20 so, for him, it’s all about development. All he can do is keep on playing well and scoring. He’s scoring big goals in big games and that’s what you want to be doing as a striker.

“He has a bright future ahead of him. Obviously, doing as well as he is at that age, he’s obviously going to be linked with all the big European clubs like Real Madrid. That’s only natural because he’s young but he’s also doing it on the biggest stage as well.

“Sometimes when you’re younger, your vision is to play for a Real Madrid or Barcelona or another massive club but, by going there, you might find that your game time is limited.

“When that happens, you need to be able to deal with the fact you aren’t playing every week. Right now Moussa [pictured] is playing every week and he’s taking part in the Champions League as well. That’s the choice he’s got to make. Everyone’s choices are different and everyone’s experiences are different, so I’m not saying that, if he did go to one of those big clubs, it wouldn’t work out for him.

“Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. When the time comes, if a manager wants you and says he’ll play you, then you can go, but football isn’t as black and white as that.

“Moussa could stay here and get another 150 games under his belt and then leave but football doesn’t always work out like that – in two years’ time there could be another Moussa somewhere else.

“It’s one of those things. I think he just needs to enjoy his time here as much as he can and, when the time comes and he has the chance to move on,

the decision will be up to him – whether to go elsewhere and not get as many games or stay here and be a regular.”