5 years baby
Ange Postecoglou said he wants âone or two moreâ signings at Celtic after his side got off to a flying start in pre-season.
The boss watched on as his side put SC Wiener Viktoria to the sword in a 7-0 rout in Vienna. Johnny Kenny stole the headlines with a double while youngster Rocco Vata rounded it off with his first goal in green and white late on.
New signings Alexandro Bernabei and Benjamin Siegrist made their debuts while returning duo Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers werenât involved as they rest up for Saturdayâs clash with Rapid Vienna. But it isnât expected that the incoming business will stop there.
A new central midfielder is high on the agenda and Vinicius Souza may still be an option after reports in the Netherlands denied that he is close to joining PSV. Meanwhile a new creator may be required to replace Tom Rogic, who was nominated for PFA Player of the Year last season before leaving on a free.
Postecoglou said: âI still think there are one two areas where we need some more robustness in terms of the squad, just some quality in depth. I wouldnât expect too many but there are still one or two areas Iâm looking to strengthen knowing whatâs ahead for us.
âIt has been good so far. It has been pretty well chronicled that 12 months ago it was chaotic. In January and now we are working in a way that we know what we are after. We identify targets and then make sure we take the time to get the ones we want, so that has been good.
âIt was very pleasing to get Jota and Cam on board permanently. They were massive contributors last season and we think there is more in them. To get them on-board is great and with Alexandro and Benji coming in that helps with the quality across the board.
âWe are definitely looking to bring in one or two more before the window closes. Again it is about identifying what we want and making sure they fit all aspects and we are working towards that.â
However the Hoops boss was adamant that no deals are in the âfinal stagesâ as things stand. Postecoglou went on: âI know you guys like to speculate about prime and secondary, but look, I said last year the ones we got we did pretty good getting and the ones we donât get are the ones that donât work out for a number of reasons.
âSo, whilst we have an interest in a lot of players, Iâve always said for me thereâs got to be certain things that come together for a deal to be done. Thereâs a lot of good players out there. But are they a good fit for our football club? Do they want to be at our football club?
"If any way along this way I get a sense that doesnât happen then weâre happy to move on to the next one. We donât have primary targets. We know what we need and weâve identified some players who potentially could fit in that mould. But like I said, we wonât go into that final stage with anyone else at the moment until Iâm convinced theyâre coming to the football club for the right reasons.â
Postecoglou knows that some of his players could go, like Christopher Jullien who saw a move to Schalke collapse last week, and Ismaila Soro, who has remained in Glasgow. Celtic also agreed a deal to sell Ross Doohan to Tranmere Rovers.
The keeper was on loan at the English club last season. Postecoglou knows he has a big squad but reckons that will be needed for their domestic defence and their Champions League assault. He acknowledged: âItâs a big squad, and weâre going to need a big squad.
"Weâll probably play 60 games this year, and with the World Cup break itâs going to be a pretty congested schedule either side of it. So, weâre going to need a strong squad, but in terms of players departing itâs no different to last year.
âIâm pretty comfortable with it, that will all take care of itself. The ones who see their futures elsewhere or are looking for opportunities elsewhere, if that comes along it comes along. At the moment, whoever is in the squad, I treat them as if they are going to stay in the squad, unless they say otherwise.â
Hmmm
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What position does he play?
Has to be a winger with that frame ??
Heâs an attacking midfielder.
We seem to be looking for midfield reinforcements alright. I guess Bitton and Rogic moving on leaves us a little short. Ideguchi and McCarthy could in theory cover Bittonâs role but reports indicate we want a Champions League ready/starting defensive midfielder. We were heavily linked with that Vinicius Souza chap, for example. This PSG chap then fits the more attacking midfield profile to replace Rogic. We were linked with that Christopher Scott fella and OâRiley was also an astute pick up in January.
Overall, itâs been fairly positive so far with CCV and Jota back permanently, a backup keeper upgrade and a new left back. Weâve also moved on some players that donât feature in Angeâs plans such as Barkas, Soro and Bolingoli. Maybe a couple more of these type to go - Ajeti and perhaps Jullien to name a couple.
Wouldnât mind seeing us get another centre back and a forward player than can play wide or through the middle.
ANGE POSTECOGLOU has poured cold water on reports of a move for highly-rated Paris Saint-Germain youngster Edouard Michut, saying that Celtic wonât be looking to bring him to Glasgow this summer.
The Celtic manager was asked about multiple reports in Scotland and France crediting Celtic with a cut-price ÂŁ2m move for the 19-year-old as he looks for more regular first-team football, but while Postecoglou admitted he was an admirer of the player, he said it was unlikely he would be coming to the club.
âMultiple? So that adds credibility?â Postecoglou said. âIf I sat here talking about every player we were linked to every dayâŚwe donât have enough hours.
âWe are still working away in the background. We know what we need. We are working with some targets we have. We are in no rush to get it done.
âThere is nothing, in terms of players we are being linked to at the moment, thatâs going to happen in the near future. Or at all, in some of the cases.
âI have an interest in every good footballer in the world, but there is a limited market I can tap into. Thereâs no-one I will dismiss but I donât want to send someone off on a wild goose chase.
âGood player, but no.â
Postecoglou stopped short though of ruling out a move for Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy, who played under him when he was in charge of the Socceroos and is a free agent after a spell in Chinese football.
The Celtic manager would not confirm any concrete interest in the player, but didnât shut the door on a move further down the line should he miss out on any of his primary targets.
âAaronâs a fantastic footballer, somebody I know really well,â he said.
âI guess heâs getting linked with us. Iâm sure he will get picked up, heâs a good player, a very talented player.
âIn terms of us, we have got a plan that we are sticking to and so far I am pretty happy with the progress we are making on all fronts, and hopefully there will be some news coming out in the next couple of weeks before the season starts.
âWe are going through the process and making sure we get the ones we need.
âHeâs another footballer who is very much talented and very much in my range, but that doesnât mean weâre going to bring him in, no.â
Fab has been wrong on a couple of Celtic deals now this summer.
Ange said today he expects two more signings in the next seven days.
I suspect one might be that Vera chap. Was noticeable from today that we didnât have a third central midfielder to being on with Hatate being out. And even then that was relying on McCarthy who seems to be well down the pecking order.
Other signing likely a centre back with Jullien firmly fourth choice and didnât get a long run out today either.
Did Fab have that PSG chap story or are you referring to something else?
Whatâs up with Hatate? I think Jullien got minutes today but I wouldnât be keen on Welsh being next man up if CCV or Starfelt are injured.
Fab had that PSG guy which Ange said wasnât true. And he had Juranovic leaving a few weeks back.
Hatate was sick so they just had him training on his own yesterday instead.
Yeah think we need another centre back, preferably left sided.
He had Edouard to Celtic but for âŹ2.5m which seemes ridiculously cheap, hes available but for closer to âŹ6m which is why Ange distanced himself.
Julien played about the last 25 yesterday
Not sure how reliable this Daily Telegraph reporter is. I like Mooy as a footballer. Heâs quite similar in style to McGregor, I would contend. I thought we were more in for a physically imposing, tough tackling, ground eating, #6 for Champions League purposes than another neat, composed, link man type. Maybe weâre still after the other type too.
Did Mooy used to play for the Huddersfield Terriers or am I thinking of someone else ?