Ange Postecoglou has been discussing the recent Celtic signing of Danish midfielder Oliver Abildgaard, and how his rapid development will benefit the squad in the near future. Oliver Abildgaard left the Russian side of Rubin Kazan to join the Hoops at the end of the Summer transfer window. However, he has been largely limited in his game time for the Hoops so far this season.
As Abildgaard arrived at Celtic so late, he missed all of the pre-season set for the Bhoys. Ange believes that missing pre-season can be challenging for a player looking to break into the starting XI. With this in mind, Ange explains that, in his opinion, Abildgaard will come into his best form in the second half of the season, following the short pause in November and December caused by the Qatar World Cup.
The Celtic gaffer believes that Oliver Abildgaard isn’t the only player who will be coming into their best form at the start of next year, he explains that Aaron Mooy and Sead Haksabanovic were signed for the purpose of coming into form in the second half of the season.
As reported by Glasgow Live, Ange said…
“I think Oliver is taking a normal amount of time. He was training on his own for months, so we knew he would take a while For me, Oliver, Aaron (Mooy) and Sead (Haksabanovic) were signings for the back half of the year.”
“Anything we got out of them this first half of the year was going to be a bonus for us. When you miss pre-season, it is a very difficult thing to come in and hit the ground running.”
“Feel good about your physical fitness and your football. What we are getting out of those guys just now is a real bonus.”
“Second half of the year is when they will be able to show their true selves. Oliver is doing really well. He is doing a job for us. He is getting fitter and I am sure he will make more of a contribution.”
