Although he’s only been at the club for a season,
Ange Postecoglu has already had a noticeable impact at Celtic.
During that time, he has managed to wrest back control of the Scottish Premiership from the
Glasgow club’s cross-city rivals, Rangers, after their recent resurgence under Steven Gerrard.
But it’s not just on the pitch that Postecoglu’s influence has been felt.
In the transfer market, Celtic have enjoyed a couple of busy windows,
bringing in a number of players from different markets to suit the Australian’s system.
And this smart transfer activity has continued into the present transfer window.
Two players who were on loan at the club last season — Cameron Carter-Vickers and
Jota — have been made permanent transfers. Both slotted comfortably into Postecoglu’s
set-up and so it’s only natural that they would be retained. This
shows that the recruitment processes under Postecoglu is clearly working.
Beyond this, the club have been linked with a number of options that can only be described as
“sensible transfers,” raising the question as to why we’re making this video in the first place.
But instead of tearing up the script and starting again, we’re going to take a look at some of the
players that Celtic have been linked with to see what sensible transfers look like in the wild.
Given the success of Celtic’s squad management under Ange Postecoglu, the squad itself needs very
little work beyond some strategic planning. With many of the first team players arriving in the
last two transfer windows, there is little danger that there will be major outgoings this summer.
There are some areas, though, that will require strengthening, starting with the left back spot:
The left back position may seem like a strange place to begin.
Greg Taylor had probably his best season for Celtic last season and is a reliable
performer. However, he is upgradeable and Celtic lack any quality alternatives for him.
The club clearly recognise this, though, having already signed Alexander Bernabei,
a left back from Lanus in Argentina.
Bernabei is short, quick and a very good dribbler and ball-carrier.
Going forward, he’s very productive in the final third,
where he provides a consistent threat from wide or when moving inside the pitch.
One area where Bernabei is something of an unknown quantity is in his ability to invert.
Ange Postecoglu expects his full backs to move inside the pitch to form overloads in possession
and to help to cover the central areas when the opposition are attacking.
Bernabei doesn’t have too much experience of this sort of system and, on top of this, does have a
tendency to make poor decisions in possession, taking risks and occasionally turning the ball
over in dangerous areas. This is an area he needs to develop if he is to succeed under Postecoglu.
At the other end of the pitch, Bernabei picks up a lot of defensive actions due to
how tight he gets to opponents, preventing them from getting any separation from him.
That said, at 1.69m tall, there are questions to be raised with how the
Argentine will cope with the physical requirements of the Premiership.
Bernabei will be the first signing Celtic have made from Argentina
and their first from South America since Rafael Scheidt’s transfer from Gremio
in 1999. Traditionally, European clubs have tended to be wary of signing South American players
because of the difficulties in moving across continents. However, in the wake of Brexit,
the newly-implemented work permit rules have made players from South America
much more available for British clubs, so expect to see more signings from that area.
Another position where Celtic need some strategic planning is at left centre-back. Current starter
Carl Starfelt was signed last summer from Rubin Kazan in Russia and has settled in at the club
after a somewhat shaky start. His immediate back-up, Stephen Welsh, is not yet at a level to
push him and so a left centre-back who could slot between them in the pecking order would be smart
business. Welsh nearly moved to Udinese earlier in the year, so there should be a market for him.
Auston Trusty would fit the bill here. Trusty was signed by Arsenal from MLS
side Colorado Rapids in January, a deal facilitated by the two clubs’ shared owner.
However, he was immediately sent back on loan for the first half of the 2022 MLS season. Despite
having the best season of his career in 2021, he isn’t yet close to Premier League level and so
Arsenal are looking to send Trusty out on loan to another European club with an option to buy.
This makes him a perfect choice for Celtic. He can offer competition to Starfelt, develop his own
game, and then at the end of the season, the club can decide whether to trigger the option or not.
Trusty is a versatile left-sided player who has played on the left side of a back three
as well as turning out at left back. He offers good passing and ball carrying in possession
which is important to Celtic’s play style, but is also a good aerial presence defensively.
If he were to join Celtic, Trusty would be forming a partnership with fellow American
Cameron Carter-Vickers, something that would no doubt help him settle in at the club.
Our pick, though, is Jacob Greaves, a 21-year-old starter for Hull City.
A proactive defender who is good in the air,
Greaves is also left-footed and a good carrier of the ball. Celtic will like the fact that he has
senior minutes in the Championship as they have a history of picking up players from that league,
something that will give them confidence about Greaves being able to make the step up.
Given that Celtic spend most of their time on the ball, they need their centre-backs
to have possessional ability. On the right hand side, Cameron Carter-Vickers is a good passer,
so Greaves’ carrying would add a nice bit of variability to the back line.
But there is scope for him to improve his passing too. Celtic are often in low
pressure environments domestically, which would allow Greaves to develop his passing ability.
His age profile would also suit Celtic given that Starfelt is 27 and Carter-Vickers is 24.
Another area where backup is needed is the defensive midfield position.
When Ange Postecoglu arrived at Celtic in 2021, he moved Callum McGregor from
being an 8 into a deeper-lying role at the base of a midfield three. This proved to
be a tactical masterstroke from the Australian because McGregor has thrived in his new role.
Going forward, McGregor will likely continue to play in a deeper role, but with Nir Bitton moving
on this summer, added depth would be useful here for Celtic. The club have also relied heavily on
McGregor in terms of minutes, with the Scottish international playing over 4,000 minutes for
Celtic in every season from the last three. They would be wise to reduce his workload as he ages.
With Champions League football guaranteed this season, Postecoglu might like a more
defensive option in the defensive midfield position, allowing him a different kind of
player in Europe while allowing McGregor the opportunity to play further forward.
Once again, Celtic are ahead of the curve on this one,
being strongly linked with Vinicus Souza, a 23-year-old Brazilian defensive midfielder for
Belgian side Lommel who spent last season on loan at Mechelen. He is also a “sensible transfer”.
A City Football Group player, Souza needs a “stepping stone club” to continue his
career trajectory. Although City Football Group do have options in the top 5 leagues,
a move to Celtic makes good sense because they’ve done business in the past.
Souza is a classic ball-winning midfielder. Last season,
he put up better defensive numbers than any midfielder across Europe’s biggest leagues.
Not only is he extremely active off the ball, accumulating an elite number of defensive actions,
he does so with a remarkable level of success. In tackles,
tackle success percentage and interceptions, Souza was in the 99th percentile each time.
On the ball, the Brazilian can improve. He is a decent enough dribbler and carrier of the ball.
But he needs to get better as a passer and at protecting the ball. While he’s never going to
be a really high-level possession player, he can work at raising his floor. Again,
in Celtic’s system, a system where they dominate possession, he can work on that.