Having already worked with Kasper Schmeichel at Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers is already well-acquainted with the qualities the veteran stopper and latest Celtic signing possesses.
With a string of top saves and handy distribution against Manchester City and Chelsea during the club's recent USA Tour, the 37-year-old has indeed already shown flashes of what he can bring to Celtic.
But an old quote from the Irishman during his first spell in the Parkhead dugout outlining what he looks for in a goalkeeper serves to underscore why the manager thought moving for Schmeichel was the right decision.
In February 2019, Rodgers spoke in praise of Scott Bain who'd then claimed the No. 1 jersey for himself over Craig Gordon.
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"Scott’s decision making is very good," said Rodgers at the time. "When we brought him in here, it was because he had a really good view of the game. I’ve always had goalkeepers like that because how they build a game is really important to how my teams play.
"He sees it. He had one misplaced pass when he should have taken a touch – his very first touch of the game – and he understands football, when to speed up the game, when to go in the first and second line.
"Craig is a fanatic goalkeeper. He makes great saves and he understands all of this from my time here. We have two goalkeeper vying for the position. Scott is looking calm and composed, and when he has to make saves he does, which is important."
Rodgers left for Leicester later that month back in 2019, but Bain held his place in the Celtic first-team right through until the successful completion of the historic and unprecedented 'Treble Treble'.
With the arrival of Viljami Sinisalo, Bain's place today appears to have dropped two places down the pecking order, but the tenets outlined by Rodgers five-and-a-half years ago remain the same.
Schmeichel has indeed already shown good decision making, a deft view of the game and a clear desire to build from the back with calmness and composure.
How his season at Celtic will play out remains to be seen, but the 37-year-old is expected to make his first competitive appearance for his new club this Sunday, August 4, when Celtic kick off the defence of the Scottish Premiership title.
