It's fair to say that eyebrows were raised when Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers captured Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan for the princely sum of £1 million late on during transfer deadline day.

Nobody is questioning the validity of the transfer or Rodgers's judgement now. McCowan has amassed a total of 67 minutes in his short Celtic career so far. It's fair to say he has impressed everybody of a green-and-white persuasion in his four appearances from the bench this season. He has certainly caught the eye of Rodgers. The Irishman labelled his contribution in the 2-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Ross County in Dingwall as 'outstanding'.

Rodgers said: "Second half, the guys coming into the game, Paulo (Bernardo) and Luke (McCowan), they were outstanding. They were flexible on the ball, they showed good movement.

“We looked at it at half-time, pointed out a couple of little moments and in the second half, we were very, very good. Especially with the introduction of the players coming in, giving us that new energy in the game."

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It was the introduction of McCowan and Bernardo that sparked a lacklustre Celtic side into life as the champions struck late to eke out a vital win in the Highlands. McCowan has stepped up to the plate in every match he has been handed vital first-team minutes. The Celtic supporters are now wanting to see him start more regularly as the season progresses.

Would Rodgers be tempted to hand McCowan his first start on Saturday against early Scottish Premiership title challengers Aberdeen? McCowan is poised like a cobra waiting to unleash his midfield venom onto unsuspecting Scottish Premiership opposition. The 26-year-old may have been a late-career arrival to the Celtic party but he's determined to make his mark at his boyhood idols.

Speaking exclusively to The Celtic Way, McCowan's former No.2 at Dundee, Dave Mackay said this when the player got his dream move back in August. Mackay said: "Luke is only 26 and it is a great time for him and Celtic. His peak years are ahead of him. This is not a kid coming in as he's amassed a lot of Scottish Premiership experience with Dundee. He does not need to be developed as he is coming into the best years of his career.

"He may have only been playing in a more central midfield role for over a year so there will be lots of progression there. He will improve by playing with better players in the system that Celtic play and he will only get better and better.

"Luke can score goals, he can create goals, he has the mobility to get around the pitch, technically he is very good and he is a clever footballer. He can play those intricate passes and I genuinely believe that given time he will force his way into Celtic's starting XI or he will play a large part in most of the games. I think he will play a lot of games for Celtic and he will make a big impact."

It was high praise indeed from Mackay. Rodgers is a 'horses-for-courses' manager. Could Saturday's outing against joint leaders Aberdeen be a course for McCowan? This is a Scottish Premiership top-of-the-table clash. It's a fixture that McCowan understands and he would be all over should he get the nod. Let's not kid ourselves either he would also get wired in.

Aberdeen are coming to Celtic Park to test themselves and to see how good they can be under Jimmy Thelin. They have a collective will to win and sometimes you can't buy that. That attitude has to be matched and bettered big time in every department.

Conventional wisdom says that McCowan will need to be content with another outing from the bench. However, in a midfield comprising inspirational skipper Callum McGregor, Portuguese under-21 midfielder Paulo Bernardo, £11 million Belgian international Arne Engels and Japanese international Reo Hatate, McCowan has not looked out of his depth in any shape or form. If Rodgers doesn't start McCowan he won't think twice about throwing him into the fray if it isn't going Celtic's way against the Reds just as he did in Dingwall.

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The most noticeable thing about McCowan is that he has a high tempo and high energy in his game. He is at his happiest when he is supporting the Celtic front line. That was evident when he crashed home his first-ever goal for the men in green and white against Hearts on only his second appearance for the club.

He is also not shy in performing the menial and dirty tasks of trying to turn the ball over and winning the ball back but he is also very clever and rarely wasteful in possession. McCowan is equally comfortable in whatever area of the park he is deployed in and the tasks that he is being asked to perform.

McCowan is calm and composure personified. He was also the captain of Dundee and has leadership qualities in abundance. Those traits are not entirely lost on his manager either. The 51-year-old is acutely aware of what he has in McCowan. Rodgers has a highly functional and intelligent footballer at his disposal who is now getting down to work at Celtic.

Only last week former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov revealed that he believes McCowan has a bright future ahead of him in Glasgow's east end. The Bulgarian said: "Luke just seems to smile every single minute. We can all see how happy he is to be playing for Celtic. He has made significant contributions on the park and has already scored for Celtic. He is heading in the right direction.

"I had the pleasure of meeting him a few weeks ago and he was buzzing. I told him to enjoy these special times and to relax. He has a wonderful ability and he will be an asset to the team this season, for sure. It must be great for Brendan to have so many good options.”

The fact that he is Scottish and a die-hard Celtic supporter has only endeared him to the wider fan base even more. To date, Rodgers has managed him skilfully by drip-feeding him into the first team.

Surely both Mackay and Petrov can't be wrong. It may well be a matter of time before McCowan is playing a large part in most Celtic matches and making a big impact. He will be a huge asset to Celtic moving forward. McCowan is starting to make his presence felt in the Celtic midfield. If McCowan doesn't get the nod against the Dons this weekend he can at least console himself by the fact that he will most certainly have been in the equation, conversation and mix for a start.

It remains to be seen if Rodgers will back the horse that is McCowan for the course that is Aberdeen at the weekend. However, McCowan will feature prominently at some stage if he isn't in the starting XI.

What is true is that the thoroughbred midfield horse that is McCowan is certainly on the right course to becoming a Celtic first-team regular.