Celtic signing £8.6m star who might lastly substitute McGregor

Have we ever witnessed a season fairly like this one at Celtic? There have been three totally different managers on the Parkhead helm and regardless of the entire chaos, they managed to maneuver inside three factors of league leaders Hearts after successful on Saturday.

The diabolical Wilfried Nancy reign got here to an finish after simply 33 days however with Martin O’Neill again within the dugout, there’s renewed hope as soon as extra for Celtic supporters.

It did not take O’Neill lengthy to get the Hoops again to successful methods as they defeated Dundee United 4-0 on the weekend.

The duty for the Irishman now will even be to establish the fitting gamers to strengthen the ranks. They’re but to welcome any new faces to Paradise however it absolutely will not be lengthy earlier than they do.

Celtic lining up midfielder deal

One of the vital thrilling rumours of the January window thus far has been hyperlinks to Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Japan ahead left Scotland behind a 12 months in the past and is now enjoying his soccer in England for Birmingham Metropolis. Nonetheless, sadly for these at Celtic, it is a deal that feels unlikely. O’Neill stated as a lot in his pre-match press convention final week.

A transfer for Hibernian striker Kieron Bowie may very well be on the playing cards as an alternative.

Away from that much-needed striker spot, Celtic might additionally bolster their ranks in the midst of the park. That is in response to a report from Soccer Insider.

They declare that Celtic and their Outdated Agency rivals are set to battle it out for the signature of Swedish midfielder Silas Andersen this month. Andersen at the moment performs in his homeland for BK Hacken.

Soccer Insider’s switch correspondent, Pete O’Rourke said: “Each Celtic and Rangers are him. He’s a younger midfielder who has bought the bodily attributes to return into Scotland and be a hit.”

Whereas no price has been reported on this event, earlier stories have urged it might take an eye-watering £8.6m to prise him away from Hacken.

Why Andersen might substitute McGregor long-term

Celtic’s midfield has been a problem this time period. Membership captain Callum McGregor has performed extra minutes than some other participant in hoops this time period however who performs alongside him has been up for debate throughout a lot of the marketing campaign.

Arne Engels and Reo Hatate have been the popular mixture, notably beginning alongside McGregor on O’Neill’s return on Saturday.

Engels did in actual fact rating on this event however Hatate was dragged off simply after the hour mark. Given the qualities that Andersen possesses, you sense he might substitute both of them within the Celtic midfield.

He is bought the power to powerfully carry the ball ahead however within the phrases of SPFL analyst Kai Watson, he is “extremely aggressive and robust within the sort out”, suggesting he might play as a lone pivot.

Andersen is a holding midfielder by commerce and aged simply 21, appears to be like like a future McGregor in ready.

In accordance with knowledge from FBRef, the younger midfielder is an all-action participant. Whereas he might not discover the online fairly often, scoring simply 5 occasions in 45 outings for the Allsvenskan facet, he’s good at getting the ball ahead and disrupting play.

In comparison with midfielders in 14 leagues much like the Swedish top-flight, he ranks impressively. He sits inside the highest 4% of positionally comparable gamers for passes tried and the highest 5% for progressive carries per 90 minutes, suggesting he likes to get on the ball and progress play.

Andersen additionally ranks within the high 1% for interceptions and among the many greatest 2% for blocks per 90. This can be a participant who will fiercely stand in the way in which to get well possession and judging by his capacity to hold the ball, his first thought is all the time about how he can get possession up the pitch.

To place these numbers into context, McGregor ranks poorly compared. The info under showcases that.

Andersen vs McGregor: Final one year
Stat (per 90 minutes)	Andersen	McGregor
Objectives	0.17	0
Assists	0.17	0
Passes accomplished	60.87	56.50
Progressive carries	2.44	0.60
Progressive passes	6.80	3.20
Tackles	2.09	1.50
Interceptions	2.09	1.00
Knowledge provided by FBRef.

Let’s make issues clear. Andersen shouldn’t be going to stroll into the crew and substitute the skipper instantly. McGregor is fairly irreplaceable for now.

Nonetheless, on the age of 32, it will not be lengthy earlier than Celtic want to think about a succession plan. O’Neill is unlikely to be within the image for that lengthy however by signing Andersen, they’d have a participant able to not simply succeeding McGregor on the base of the midfield however that includes alongside him.

For now, the latter feels extra sensible however ought to he arrive at Parkhead, it won’t be too lengthy earlier than we witness a altering of the guard.