Earlier I wrote an article on Yosuke Ideguchi and commented on the fact that, from what I have seen of him and heard from others, such as previous manager Damir Buric, the Japanese star looks and sounds like an upgrade on two players who play a similar role in the Celtic squad. Ismaila Soro and James McCarthy are the two players I’m talking about and with two out of the three players signed this January transfer window predominantly centre midfielders, I fear the worst for this pair going forward.
Like most managers Ange Postecoglou will always want two players of a similarly high standard vying for the one position in the starting eleven. The signing of the three Japanese players at the start of this month will certainly help him achieve this wish. Having two players of a similar ilk battle it out for a starting spot will always benefit the team. Most football fans will have seen how a player tends to get comfortable when there is no one in the squad capable of taking his position in the starting eleven.
If we think back to the Brendan Rodgers era when you had both James Forrest and Patrick Roberts vying for the one spot on the right wing it helped both players become better. When a player in the starting eleven knows that there is someone just as good waiting in the wings to take their spot in the team it inspires them to push on and perform to a high standard consistently.
If we had all players fit (we can all dream) and ready to go who would be our top picks in the centre of the pitch? If we look at the attacking midfield berth it’s between Rogic and Turnbull. Two players of the very highest standard who offer so much in that position pushing each other on constantly. If we drop further back and look at the ‘number 8’ role as well as the more deep lying centre midfield spot there are a lot of options.
You have the captain Callum McGregor who is guaranteed a starting spot. The question we all keep asking however, is he better as the ‘number 8’ or sitting further back? He is mighty impressive in either role and I’m sure Ange has it figured out where he wants Callum to play in the future. So moving on we also have new signing Reo Hatate. All information we have seems to point to him being perfect for that ‘number 8’ role. Bags of energy, strong in the tackle with a great ability to break up opposition play as well as start his own attacks from midfield he could be perfect for the role.
Moving further back we have Nir Bitton who has been fantastic this season. To me his best position will always be defensive midfielder. Not saying he can’t play a bit further forward but that role needs someone with boundless energy, which isn’t Nir’s game. He will now be under pressure from Yosuke Ideguchi who plays a similar type role as Bitton and has a lot of the same attributes.
So there we have it, in my opinion Ange has what he wants and that’s two extremely capable players vying for each position in the middle of the park. So where does that leave Soro and McCarthy?
I feel like the Australian has lost faith with these two and I feel like neither player is suited to the way Ange likes to play. The signing of McCarthy still leaves me confused and with Ideguchi now in the ranks to challenge Bitton for that deep lying role it’s hard to see where these two players fit in. Neither player is capable of playing the ‘number 8’ role and Bitton has proven better than both at playing deeper. Would Ange have signed Ideguchi if he didn’t believe he was better than Soro and McCarthy? I highly doubt it.
I’ve always thought Soro was a decent player who’s main negative may be that he struggles with his on pitch discipline at times. He seems to always get booked early then we are left biting our nails the rest of the game that he will make another rash challenge and get sent off. A lot of Celtic fans will probably be surprised that he is only 23 years old so there is room for improvement there but he’s been at Celtic a few years now and has failed to pin down a starting spot even after being handed chances. I have a feeling he may be moved on either this month or in the summer.
McCarthy is a signing that still frustrates me. Ten years ago I would have been overjoyed to have signed him but at this stage it was just puzzling. He has never looked comfortable trying to fit his game into Ange Postecoglou’s system and to me I don’t ever think it will ever happen. With a four year contract and I would imagine a more than decent wage it will be a tough job to move him on. I can’t see too many clubs being interested especially with his previous injury record and I feel this signing may be one we regret over the next few years.
Whatever happens we currently have plenty of bodies capable of playing a variety of roles in the centre of the park and it will be up to those players to stake their claim. Competition for places is always welcome and it should improve each player involved. Unfortunately for some I think they won’t be around much longer to feel the benefit.
Conall McGinty
Ange will want a good sized squad so that he can rotate his players and maintain a high tempo from game to game. I think you may be jumping the gun here.