Sometimes a new manager can get the best out of a player that they’re familiar with, so it’s interesting to look at who’s being linked with the Celtic job and any connection they have with the current squad.
Walter Mazzarri is a vastly experienced manager who’s been with some of the biggest sides in Serie A, so he should fulfil the criteria of a “big name” that most fans are looking for.
A report from The Boot Room has pointed out that he’s already managed Diego Laxalt over two different spells at Inter and more recently with Torino, so his appointment could give the wing back a new lease of life at Celtic Park.
Laxalt has had some positive moments at Celtic but he does split opinion due to his tendency to go walkabout and leave the defence exposed, so it’s hard to see him staying on a permanent deal as things stand.
Appointing Mazzarri could change that, but it does make you wonder what would be an acceptable price based on the evidence that we’ve seen this year.
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The report claims Milan were looking for around £9m to sell him a few months ago but we all know that’s not going to happen, but it could also depend on what interest is out there.
There are several moving parts here as it obviously depends on Mazzarri actually getting the job, but it could make sense to keep Laxalt around if it’s possible to get him on loan again or at least push that price down towards the £3m mark.
A manager like Mazzarri would bring a totally different approach which would be more focussed on tactics and having an actual game plan so he would need to have players that he knows and trusts, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the Uruguayan this summer.
