Ismaila Soro has been dismissed as 'not good enough' to succeed Scott Brown at Celtic.

Hoops great Charlie Nicholas issued the verdict in his brutal Daily Express column (via the Daily Record).

Nicholas made 209 appearances over the course of two spells in Glasgow, scoring 125 goals and winning two Scottish titles, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to meet the level required at Parkhead.

'Soro can't anchor the midfield like Brown'

Captain Scott Brown is leaving Parkhead this summer after a 14-year stint.

And while Nicholas, earlier in his column, rubbished the notion that Brown was a 'legend', he does accept that there will be big shoes to fill.

"What Celtic will have more difficulty replacing is Brown's personality and leadership qualities in the dressing room," he claimed.

"Ismaila Soro is not good enough to be regarded as Brown's successor in the midfield anchor role."

How has Soro fared at Celtic?

Soro, who joined Celtic in January 2020 for a fee of around £2million, has had limited involvement this season.

Either side of a run of 10 successive league starts between December and February, he's barely been used (via Transfermarkt).

But the Ivorian nonetheless earned the backing of former Scotland manager Alex McLeish during that short run of form.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly impressed by the 22-year-old, and McLeish said (via Football Insider) there was 'no doubt' that Celtic could come to regret sanctioning that move.

Notably, he also expressed certainty that 'foreign players understand what it means to play for Rangers and Celtic', indicating that Soro could play with similar passion to Brown.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Nicholas' comments sound a lot like he's writing Soro off, which seems unfair - he's still young, and he's found opportunities to prove himself hard to come by.

Celtic's new manager might well see more promise in Soro than his predecessors, and even in the few chances he has been given this season he has shown what he can offer, averaging 1.9 tackles per game, the most of any Hoops player to have appeared more than once (Whoscored).

In other news, Kris Commons slammed two Celtic stars after the woeful defeat at Rangers.