Celtic’s search for a central defender looks to have now intensified with rumours abound that current first pick Kris Ajer’s agent is looking to move his client on and perhaps do so in this transfer window.
Neil Lennon’s post-match comments over the mentality and focus of certain players flushed out Ajer’s agent in particular as looking for Celtic to name their price, with which you’d assume he’d be on the phone to those asked to be kept informed when it comes to the availability of our Norwegian centre half.
Even prior to this development Celtic have been linked heavily in the market for a central defender. Constant murmurings surround Brighton’s Shane Duffy and it appears if the player had a choice himself, he’d walk the journey from the south coast to sign for Celtic.
Even if the plan is to sell Ajer and take Duffy on loan for a year Celtic need another central defender – assuming that Neil Lennon wants to move between a back three and a back four – but also because in the interests of balance it’s essential to sign a left footed central defender to complement what we have already.
The common theme to those who play central defence at Celtic is all are heavily – and some entirely – reliant on their right foot. Nir Bitton, Christopher Jullien, Kris Ajer and stand-ins Stephen Welsh and Hatem abd Elhamed are all right footed, indeed of those players I’ve only really seen Elhamed look in anyway comfortable when using his left foot.
The majority of managers and coaches know the balance to a football team starts at the spine with a goalkeeper and two central defenders. Each coach strives to have height and strength but also the Holy Grail is parity in central defence. A pairing with a strong left and right peg starts a side off with the right balance from which to build your sides formation. It allows a coach to basically split the pitch in two.
Football sides of the past – the good and the great ones that is – are built on attaining a simple balance that if far too often underrated as the sexier positions of central midfield and centre forward take priority. To not address the balance in central defence however can have a detrimental effect.
As a defender in a centre back pairing there is an element of partnership but most will be done on instinct. Watching a game in an attack minded side you patrol your side of defence while your partner controls his, there is a synergy but both work predominately independently. Dropping off and stepping up is something that looks like it’s done in tandem but often it’s simply that when one defender is engaged the other is free to drop back. It’s not really communication as such it’s simply dividing the pitch the danger and the labour. Decisions are taken far too quickly for a discussion to ensue. And that’s why the balance of a right footed and left footed player is so essential.
Celtic at the moment operate with Kris Ajer as the left sided central defender, yet all his instincts being right footed means his fall back is to drift inside, he has to train his movements to focus his attention to a limb and side of the pitch his brain would rather steer clear of the majority of the time.
In general, a naturally left footed central defender will drop off during games to his left shoulder, if he’s engaging a right winger or attacking midfielder in his half of the pitch he will mainly look to tackle of shield or bock with his outside foot.
The modern way of opposition sides playing right footers on the left wing or left footers on the right wing is designed to unsteady such balanced defensive partnerships, but in the main even if an inverted winger cuts across onto a defenders weaker side, he can harry the player into areas of defensive midfield cover by using their physicality to unbalance the attacker temporarily. That’s where, until recently at least, Scott Brown would come into play as the attacker is doubled up on.
The reason predominately for coaches however wanting the right footed/left footed partnership is because when starting attacks from the back the defender feels more comfortable, even playing the ball first time or clearing their lines the movement is not only natural but more likely to be read by ideally equally balanced positions in midfield teammates or even further up field.
Players further forward don’t have to check runs or movements while waiting for a defender to readjust to the foot he’s most comfortable with and opposition plyers have less time to react to the attacker’s movements to receive the ball.
There is also less chance when getting closed down that the attacker from the opposition has any real opportunity to close the advancing defender down. This half a second and more at times can be all the difference to the counter attacking threat your team can threaten with.
The utilising of the cross field diagonal ball is also a great tool in turning defence into attack but also in bypassing the modern-day high press. It’s a tool Celtic do use and you’ll have seen Christopher Jullien doing it on occasion – most recently for Moi Elyounoussi’s opening goal against KR Reykjavik – but how often do we see Kris Ajer offer the same threat from left to right?
If you examined that analytics of any Celtic game the majority of our attacking players will drift to the left. That’s because of Jullien’s passing but also because Ajer doesn’t go to the opposite side of the pitch and even when he drives with the ball as his alternative tactic to break the lines, he tends to carry the ball towards the middle of the left side of the pitch. Moi cuts inside looking for the ball and Edouard drifts out to the left, and that makes us far more predictable to play against and for the opposition to prepare for tactically.
Just look at how ‘the’ Rangers operated against us last season, in the League Cup Final and at Celtic Park before the winter break. Their tactic was to shut down the right side, which they did well, and focus their attention on where we’d predominately play the ball – down our left.
All of that starts with not having the balance at central defence of a player that is comfortable on either foot or preferably left footed. There are further reasons for our predictability with Callum McGregor also being left footed and with Christie being the same. It means that area of the pitch not only becomes congested by players from the opposition sent to shut Celtic down but also by our own players naturally drifting to that side of the pitch. It’s a reason why the purchase of David Turnbull will address the issue of balance further forward but we also must be aware of how important that balance is when it starts from our defence.
I’d be happy to see Shane Duffy in a Celtic shirt. Not that I think he’s a wonderful footballer but he would bring a strength, organisation and heading ability we lack at the moment but he should be utilised as a right sided central defender and battle it out with Jullien, or as part of a back three with Jullien playing in the middle.
To date I’ve only seen us linked with Preston’s Ben Davies who is a natural left footer and can also play at left back. In theory this sounds a good move should the scouting department deem his qualities in that position as being good enough. The other was Mali international Boubacar Kouyaté who had the advantage of being two footed but has now signed for Metz.
With Davies in the last year of his contract and Preston North End not without their financial problems a move for Davies seems possible but it’s a concern that he is the only left footed central defender we’ve been linked with who remains available.
The centre of Celtic’s defence clearly needs reinforcements but the truth is we need to ensure it’s the right type of player who comes in. With our entirety of central defensive options all being right footed the next purchase needs to be a first choice left footed central defender. It could make all the difference to the way we play and give the opposition something to think about when setting up against us.
Niall J
