Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson has admitted that he wasn’t convinced when Celtic first signed Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The American international had spent a good deal of time out on loan in the lower leagues of English football, and Ferguson says it took him some time before he realised that the defender was the real deal:

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too sure when he first come up. For the first six months, I was looking because I know he had a few loan periods when he was at Tottenham. And obviously, he’s come up here on loan and to be honest, in the first six months, I was unsure.”

“But he’s become a man mountain at the back for Celtic. He’s not the biggest either. He’s obviously built well, but he’s not the biggest centre-half ever. But very physical, very good on the ball as well a good passing range. So he’s been a brilliant bit of business for Celtic.”

Carter-Vickers has been one of the best Celtic signings in recent years

While Hoops supporters needed less convincing than Ferguson, there were some question marks after the 25-year-old first arrived in Glasgow. However, he proved any doubters wrong very quickly.

Carter-Vickers struck up an excellent understanding with Carl Starfelt in his first season at the club, and the strong defence was the backbone as Celtic won their title back from their Glasgow rivals.

Spending £6m to bring in the centre-back on a permanent basis was a no-brainer and he has continued to excel in the green and white hoops.

Injuries have caused the player some issues

After injuring his hamstring against Aberdeen back in August, Carter-Vickers spent the best part of 6 weeks on the sidelines.

However, he returned to the starting lineup when Celtic secured a comfortable 3-1 win against St Johnstone at the weekend. The defender will be keen to stay injury-free for the rest of the season.