Celtic plan move to sign “staggering” ace from English shores

Celtic and Brendan Rodgers still have plenty of work to do in the market before the summer transfer window officially slams shut at the start of September.

When asked about what the Hoops need to do, Rodgers said: “I think it’s bringing goals to the squad. Especially when you score four goals, it seems like you’re okay. But we lost an important player in Kyogo [Furuhashi] in January. He brought us a lot of goals. We lost Nicolas Kuhn. He brought us a lot of goals. Matt O’Riley even last summer.

“So even though we scored a lot of goals last season, we still want more. And our ambition is to have more. So I think all across the front areas, we have to be active in order to give us that depth we need.”

This suggests that the Scottish Premiership champions will be looking to add more attacking players to their squad, which is backed up by their reported interest in Go Ahead Eagles forward Jakob Breum.

However, the Hoops should also be looking for reinforcements in the middle of the park in the coming weeks, as they look a little light in the number six department.

Why Celtic need to sign another number six

Callum McGregor, the captain, is currently the only player in the squad who you would describe as a natural number six, a tempo-setter who can sit at the base of the midfield to dictate play and screen in front of the back four.

Reo Hatate, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, and Paulo Bernardo are the manager’s other options in the middle of the park, and they are all more traditional number eight or number ten types, who want to be all-action and pushing forward to get involved in attacks on a regular basis during games.

McGregor is the player who sets the standards, as the captain, and really drives the style of play for Rodgers with his fantastic ability to be a metronome in midfield.

As you can see in the table above, no midfielder in the squad is as effective or efficient as a passer than the former Scotland international, which is why he is the starting number six for Celtic.

However, there is no depth behind the 32-year-old star in that position, which is why it should come as good news that the Hoops are looking at another option for that role.

Celtic eyeing up Premier League starlet

According to TEAMtalk, Rodgers is ‘planning’ a raid to sign Liverpool central midfielder Stefan Bajcetic to bolster his Celtic squad before the end of the summer window.

The report claims that the Spanish youngster has emerged as a target for the Scottish Premiership champions, who are looking for more reinforcements in the coming weeks.

It adds that Liverpool, who won the Premier League last season, are willing to sanction an exit for the 20-year-old talent, and that they would be willing to explore a loan with an option to make it permanent next summer.

However, TEAMtalk explains that the potential valuation of that permanent option could make it a difficult deal for Celtic to do, as they do not want to go overboard on their budget, which makes this a difficult deal for them to get over the line.

If the Hoops are able to reach an agreement with Arne Slot’s side to bring Bajcetic to Parkhead, though, they could have a McGregor clone on their hands.

Why Celtic should sign Stefan Bajcetic

The 20-year-old starlet could come in as the perfect understudy to the Celtic captain as a natural number six who can step in and play when the Scottish ace needs a rest, with a view to him eventually taking over as the starter in the future.

At the age of 20, Bajcetic is 12 years younger than McGregor and could be the future for the Hoops, as a young player with plenty of time left ahead of him to grow and develop, whilst the skipper is in the latter stages of his career.

In terms of how he would fit in from a stylistic perspective, the Liverpool youngster would also be an ideal signing because he was the most comparable player to McGregor, statistically, in the Champions League last season, as per FBref.

The chart above backs that up, as they appear to excel in similar areas of the game in and out of possession, as Bajcetic caught the eye whilst on loan at RB Salzburg in the first half of the season.

During his time in the Austrian Bundesliga, the Liverpool youngster showcased his potential as a number six who can dictate games as a passer, whilst also being strong out of possession.

As you can see in the table above, he ranked highly among midfielders in areas of the game that a number six needs to excel at, in terms of setting the tempo with passes and winning his duels in front of the back four.

As you would expect at the age of 20, Bajcetic is not the finished article, as shown by his pass accuracy of 81.8%, compared to McGregor’s 94% in the Premiership, but he has time on his hands to develop.

Journalist Leanne Prescott once claimed that it was “staggering” how in control Liverpool looked with the Spaniard at the base of their midfield, which further backs up the belief that he could come in as the perfect understudy to the Celtic captain.

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Bajcetic is a McGregor clone in the making with his qualities in and out of possession in the number six position, which is why he could be a fantastic addition to the squad this summer.