It’s rare for a manager to outline his positional targets for the summer ahead, but with the exits of Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic confirmed Ange Postecoglou did just that at the end of the season.
It opened up the debate as to whether the manager would look to bring in another No8 to fill the gap Rogic left behind, or whether Celtic would instead target a defensive midfielder and allow Callum McGregor to leave his deep lying playmaking role and assume a position further up the field.
So far, with recent links to Brazilian Vinicius Souza, early indications are it may well be the latter option Ange Postecoglou is considering, and it’s something Chris Sutton has been discussing in his Daily Record column this morning.
Sutton of course played with Neil Lennon in this role but these days the role requires physicality, athleticism and height allied to a natural use of the ball and 360-degree vision, of course those players don’t tend to come cheap but Vinicius Souza would certainly tick a lot of the necessary boxes, and it’s a position in the team Sutton feels Celtic have not only been missing but will be a certain requirement as Postecoglou’s side take on Champions’ League Group stage football.
“In my Celtic days it was Neil Lennon. Subsequently, it was the likes of Scott Brown and Victor Wanyama who did the job. It takes different pieces to fit a puzzle and, for all Celtic’s attacking quality, Ange Postecoglou will be aware you need balance. And I’m convinced the Hoops could do with getting an enforcer in the door.
“Not just for stepping up the levels to enter the heights of the Champions League group stages but to help on the home front, too. It was pretty difficult to pick holes in the way Celtic went about their business last season. There were so many good aspects, so many exciting sights.
“However, if there was one thing that I wondered about, it was physicality. I felt that, in certain circumstances, it would have helped them. Postecoglou wants to play a certain way and I think we all admire that. Get on the front foot and play the game you want. Don’t take a backward step.
“However, there are times in games when you don’t intend to take a backward step, it just happens. You get pushed back and you need people to hold firm. Celtic’s attacking style leaves their centre-backs exposed. Most of the time, you can cope with that but not in Europe. In the Europa League, Postecoglou’s team were picked off time and again in the groups and lost five over two legs to Bodo/Glimt in the Conference League.
“There were times when it seemed Callum McGregor, as well as trying to make passes and keep the game ticking in one direction, was having to try and cover in front of his central backline by himself as waves crashed against him in the other.
“Nir Bitton has now gone and, when I think of Celtic going into the group stages of the Champions League, they are going to need someone to help hold the fort in the middle of the park. Given the way Postecoglou wants the game to be played, that’s a challenge for him and his recruitment staff.
“The Aussie isn’t just going to want a bruiser in there who just kicks people, makes tackles, covers runners but can’t pass the ball. He’ll want someone who can play as well as do the ugly side to a high level and, in the modern game, prices for these fellas can range up to around £50million.
“Finding that diamond in the rough, as they did with Wanyama, is the task. I see Brazilian Vinicius Souza is one name mentioned for the role, so it seems they are looking. I feel it’s a must. Bitton did an admirable job playing that position and there is no-one else like him in there with his stature and presence.
“Ismaila Soro isn’t the answer and you wonder if Yosuke Ideguchi might be able to. He’s not yet had a chance to flourish and, although he’s not the same as Bitton physically, neither was Lennon or Brown and they still managed to scavenge around putting out fires and dealing with danger to protect their centre-halves.”
‘We need a Wanyama/Scott Brown type in the engine room’ has long been regarded as a Celtic Da throwback request to yesterday’s football, but whilst the sheer physicality and ability to break up play alone of a No6 may be as redundant as the old-fashioned No9 role Sutton used to play, the need for an imposing physical figure who can also bring an ability to break lines and pick passes remains a need in any modern thinking European side.
Sutton is right to point to the Bodo Glimt match as showing up Celtic’s inadequacies when the opposition were in transition, but in truth it was an issue not simply evidenced by that game alone, it was a glaring concern in most European games last season.
Celtic’s side overall remains one that is short of height, but other than McGregor it is also a team who sometimes lack an ability to recover when we lose possession, an issue not highlighted often in the domestic environment but is clear as day in European competition.
We like to think of AngeBall as some revolutionary concept, but across Europe – and particularly in Germany and Italy – there are various versions of our manager’s philosophy played out weekly. When you watch those teams the physicality and athleticism as well as wonderful technique is employed in nearly every position.
It will take Celtic sometime to reach the point of being able to target such specimens for every position, but it would make a big difference to Celtic to start out with identifying someone of that ilk to play the deep lying playmaker role at Celtic.
Such signing would also allow Callum McGregor and his incessant pressing to be utilised further up the field more often, offering a firmer defensive option as we look to regain lost possession earlier, but it would also add an insurance policy should our lines be broken.
Having that assuredness encourages our attacking players to be more adventurous, to beat the extra man or play the harder pass if they feel secure in those they have behind them.
Vinicius Souza, we hear has reservations over coming to Celtic due to the league we play in, and that decision can only lie with him, but in terms of profile he is exactly the type of player Celtic need and Sutton is quite right to point out it’s an area Celtic will have to address to be competitive in European football. If that’s to be Vinicius Souza or not remains to be seen but it’s comforting to hear it’s a position, with a particular profile, we are looking to address.
Niall J
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Totally agree Niall. Buying someone who can play that role will be our most important piece of business this summer. A quality player in that area is vital if we want to compete in the Champions League.