Celtic ended their penultimate pre-season friendly with a 1-1 draw against Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in Ireland.

The Hoops were without a number of first-team central defensive options for the match as Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Yuki Kobayashi, and Maik Nawrocki were all out due to injury.

What's the latest on Carl Starfelt's future?

Football Scotland recently reported that Spartak Moscow are preparing an offer to sign Starfelt from the Scottish giants to bolster their defensive options.

However, it remains to be seen how much they are willing to pay for the 28-year-old enforcer or how much the Bhoys would demand for his services.

The outlet stated that the club could be forced back into the market to replace the Sweden international before September's deadline but Rodgers may already have a dream replacement for him in the building with Liam Scales.

How many appearances did Liam Scales make last season?

Celtic decided to send the 24-year-old titan out on loan to Aberdeen during the 2022/23 campaign and he ended the season with 31 Scottish Premiership matches under his belt, which included 30 starts.

He has gained vital experience at that level after Ange Postecoglou only handed him five league appearances throughout his first year in Scotland after a move from Shamrock Rovers.

The Irish colossus caught the eye defensively with 2.9 tackles and interceptions combined per match, whilst he also won an impressive 65% of his individual duels.

Starfelt, meanwhile, came out on top in 67% of his battles and made 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game – the most of any current defender within the squad – for Celtic across 28 outings last season.

These statistics show that both players are dominant centre-backs who can outmuscle opposition forwards consistently and are able to win possession back for their team on a regular basis at Premiership level.

Scales averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.02 for Aberdeen and made two errors leading to a shot or goal for the opposition, whereas Starfelt averaged a rating of 7.21 and made three costly mistakes. This means that the former Shamrock Rovers gem may be less of a liability at the back when it comes to making major blunders.

Whilst the 6 foot 2 colossus did not perform to the same standard as the Spartak target on a consistent basis, he played in a team that finished 42 points behind the Hoops and could thrive in a better side if given the opportunity.

Rodgers stated after the game against Wolves that Scales is "excellent" and that he really likes the young central defender, which suggests that the former Dons loanee has caught the manager's eye throughout pre-season.

As a naturally left-footed player, the £5k-per-week gem could be the perfect replacement for Starfelt as the Swedish brute is a right-footed defender who largely played on the left side next to Carter-Vickers last season.

Scales could offer balance in possession as he is able to use his stronger foot to open up and play the ball down the left flank, whereas Starfelt often has to readjust to distribute possession down that side.

Therefore, Rodgers could save Celtic millions by unleashing Scales at centre-back if the Bhoys end up cashing in on the 28-year-old warrior this summer.