'Didn't come here to not play': Celtic star fires out warning amid fierce rivalry for position

Before his arrival, five into three would not go. Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers already had captain Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo to call upon in the middle of the pitch.

Six makes it more of a crowd, so some even wondered if Nygren, a £1.5 million from FC Nordsjaelland, would be used as a wide player, given Celtic’s weakest area of the pitch appears to be at the top end.

Nygren scored 16 goals in 32 matches in Danish football last season, the majority coming from left or right wing. Yet so far Rodgers has used him as a No 8 in his midfield, with the Swedish international preferred to club record signing Engels, McCowan and Bernardo, leaving nearly £20m worth of talent on the bench.

Rodgers’ decision has been vindicated. His debut against St Mirren in the 1-0 win was reasonable, but he proved his value to the team at Pittodrie against Aberdeen, netting the opener and then providing an assist to Hatate as Celtic ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over the Dons.

The 24-year-old linked nicely on the left of the midfield three with marauding wing-back Kieran Tierney. There appears no reason to move him from his station so far and Nygren himself words of warning for those he is keeping out of the team.

Nygren sets out his Celtic mentality

“I didn't come here to not play,” Nygren said after the victory over Aberdeen. “Of course, I came here to try to come in fast and show my abilities in training and training games. Of course, I came here to help the team win games.

“That's my mentality. There is competition but that is part of football, that's how it is in big clubs. It would be weird if there were only 11 good players in such a big team as Celtic. I think we have 25 or 30 good players in Celtic, but only 11 can start the game. It's a very long season.

“Now we've only played our two first games, so we will need a lot of players, a lot of good quality players. I think we have that. In terms of my position, I think it's preferable where I started the game on Sunday. But I’m a player that has played a lot of positions. For me, I don't think too much of the positions. It's football, you need football intelligence.”

Nygren clearly has that. Rodgers often identifies players who have the hunger to develop and learn, to take in instructions. The Gothenburg native is clearly enjoying life at Celtic Park and will hope to be involved against Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup on Friday back on home soil.

“It was amazing to make my official debut at Celtic Park,” said Nygren. “It's something I've visualised since I signed for the club. It was an amazing feeling and I can't wait to play many more games.

“I could have scored last week [against St Mirren] but that's part of football. Sometimes keepers make good saves and that's how it is. It’s part of my game, that's also why I scored many goals last season. I can run a lot, so I always come a little bit from behind.

“Can I score as many as last season? Everything is possible.”