"You're too old, let go."

Eminem is hardly known for mincing his words in his songs, but when he took aim at Moby in his 2002 smash hit, Without Me, the American rapper's target was on the cusp of turning 37.

A similar sentiment ripped through pockets of the Celtic support earlier this month when, seemingly out of nowhere, Kasper Schmeichel was linked with a move to Parkhead.

If the departing Joe Hart had called time on his playing career three years shy of 40, some posited, how could this veteran goalkeeper – who turns 38 in September, by the way – possibly be on Brendan Rodgers' radar for the season ahead?

OK, so comparing an electronica DJ who rose to fame in the late 1990s to a Champions League club's incoming signing is not a fair comparison. But neither is holding Hart's retirement age against an entirely different player with an entirely different plan.

The exemplary Edwin van der Sar hung up his gloves at Manchester United aged 41, after all. Gianluigi Buffon left Juventus at 43, and retired at Parma at 45. Manuel Neuer still plays at the highest level for club and country at 38 today, and Kasper's father, the great Dane Peter Schmeichel, called it quits ahead of his own 40th birthday.

Having now signed on a one-year deal as a free agent – and with 22-year-old backup stopper Viljami Sinisalo having also jetted out with the squad for the Celtic USA Tour 2024 – Schmeichel strides into his twilight years with silverware in his crosshairs.

Which is where I'm more inclined to draw parallels between Celtic's previous goalkeeper and their most recent inductee. And not just that, the circumstances through which Schmeichel links up with his new teammates echo that of his predecessor.

Read more:

Signed by former manager Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2021, Hart flew straight to Czechia ahead of Celtic's Europa League third qualifying round encounter with FK Jablonec after putting pen to paper. As part of the club's media team at the time, it was myself that conducted the goalkeeper's first interview as a Celtic player – me in my house in Glasgow, and Hart in a hotel room on the continent.

During the interview itself – held remotely on Zoom, 1,200 miles apart - Hart spoke enthusiastically about the challenges ahead and his unwavering desire to leave his mark on Celtic and Scottish football.

Three years and seven trophies later, few would argue that he was unsuccessful in this endeavour, but what I was most impressed with at the time was the instant off-camera rapport shared between Callum McGregor and Hart as they joked about the guilty pleasure of enjoying ITV's popular reality dating show, Love Island.

A mere 15 minutes after making each other's acquaintance, it was immediately clear that if anything underlined the transitionary period Celtic were forced to endure (and indeed ensure) at the time, it was this exchange – two players: one a veteran of the game, the other a stalwart of the club.

Celtic now find themselves building on a position of strength, but I'm absolutely certain McGregor will have accompanied the manager to greet Schmeichel upon his arrival in Washington DC in the same way, and I'm equally confident the player will share a similar professional bond with his captain from the outset.

Rodgers has of course already worked extensively with the incoming stopper during their time at Leicester City together. Schmeichel has likewise enjoyed success in the shape of the English Premier League championship during that fairy tale campaign that saw Claudio Ranieri's men go all of the way against all of the odds in 2015/16.

League titles have become Celtic's bread and butter over the last decade or so, but with the manager swearing to make in-roads in European competition when he returned to Glasgow's east end last summer, a capable mature head in the shape Schmeichel's stands to play a huge part in the season(s) that lies ahead.

Read more:

The irony of Eminem suggesting Moby was too old at 37 back in 2002 is underscored by the fact the American rapper is arguably giving us his best material today two decades on, lyrically at least. His most recent album – The Death of Slim Shady, released last week – is an introspective odyssey that riffs on his younger years while illustrating how far he's come as an artist and performer, and what he can still offer in the face of younger players making waves elsewhere.

Schmeichel's CV does the same thing for me, as I now ambitiously await the goalkeeper's golden years between the sticks. Just like van der Sar. Just like Buffon. Just like Neuer. And just like his old man Peter.

In the grand pantheon of Celtic goalkeepers, recency bias likely skews whether or not Hart deserves to go down as a club great.

But if Schmeichel can help the manager realise his lofty ambitions at home and abroad, then there's every chance the aging Dane can, or at least could, etch his name into the history books. All the while proving that age is just a number.