The full effects of Ange Postecoglou’s squad rebuild at Celtic are continuing to be showcased after more than 12 months in the role.
Upon the arrival of the 57-year-old last June, admittedly, the club was in a bit of a mess from a playing squad standpoint.
The summer of 2021 saw several key faces, such as Scott Brown, head for the exit door following an extremely disappointing 2020/21 campaign.
This left the new Celtic manager with a mammoth job of rebuilding almost the entire playing squad as the Bhoys looked to claw back a 25-point deficit from the previous season.
Postecoglou got to work right away, making key signings in much-needed areas of the pitch, and the Hoops’ summer signing total came to 12 new additions.
In any transfer window, that is a lot of new faces to bring to a club. But, at Celtic, there was still a feeling that these weren’t enough, which led to the recruitment of another five new players in the January window, which is when Postecoglou’s squad started to take shape.
Of course, as we know, the Hoops went on to lift the Scottish Premiership in brilliant fashion, with almost all of the former Socceroos manager’s new signings in 2021/22 having an impact on the title victory.
The Celtic boss wasn’t looking to rest on his laurels there, though, and this summer, Postecoglou went on the hunt for further additions to his squad.
The likes of Daizen Maeda, Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers returned on a permanent basis, whilst the club was also able to complete the new signings of Ben Siegrist, Alexandro Bernabei, Aaron Mooy, Moritz Jenz, Sead Haksabanovic and Oliver Abildgaard.
Ange Postecoglou’s squad in great shape after three transfer windows.
Many supporters would agree the Celtic squad is now in great shape, with plenty of quality options to choose from all over the park.
Not only does Ange Postecoglou have a side filled with options, but he has also built a squad that is at a fantastic age to continue their development.
The age and experience is very-much balanced out through the team. The likes of Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley and Jota are young, exciting talents who are producing on a weekly basis.
Kyogo Furuhashi, Carl Starfelt and Josip Juranovic are heading into their peak years as players.
And Callum McGregor, James Forrest and Joe Hart provide some incredible experiences at the highest level.
The statistics also showcase the balance Ange Postecoglou has built throughout his squad, with the Hoops coming 2nd place in terms of the average age on the pitch since the start of this season, according to a report from CIES Football Observatory.
In comparison, Celtic (26.07) come second just behind Jim Goodwin’s Aberdeen side (25.67), whilst our Glasgow rivals Rangers (28.42) currently sit bottom, with the oldest average age in the Scottish Premiership.
Statistics from the same report also stated that Celtic have the lowest percentage of minutes played by players over the age of 30 (11.8%), with Joe Hart, Aaron Mooy and James Forrest all featuring so far this campaign.
The closest side in the Scottish Premiership to the Hoops on that front is Ross County (15.6%), with the majority of sides having over 20% of their minutes occupied by players within that age bracket.
It, once again, goes to show the impressive job that Ange Postecoglou has done in building this squad across the last three transfer windows.
The ex-Yokohama F Marinos man has built a team that is hungry to compete in the Champions League, but there is also plenty of room for development or even sell-on value thanks to the young ages of the playing staff currently at the club.
In recent weeks, Postecoglou has talked up the Hoops transfer plan, as the Bhoys target further additions in the window to come.
The Celtic boss certainly seems to be creating a very effective transfer plan alongside Mark Lawwell, who arrived at Parkhead in the summer, and long may it continue.
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