Brendan Rodgers did some great work in the summer transfer window strengthening Celtic for the season ahead.
The Celtic boss had his work cut out to replace fan favourite Joe Hart, find a replacement for Matt O’Riley who left for Brighton and broker a deal to bring Adam Idah to Celtic Park permanently.
Rodgers managed to cover all that with the additions of Kasper Schmeichel, Luke McCowan and Arne Engels and all three are impressing so far at the club.
However, there is an issue at left back that has needed to be addressed for quite some time now and Rodgers could solve that problem with a free-agent option who has enjoyed success at international level.
Ghislain Konan could be an option for Celtic
Ghislain Konan is an international left-back for Ivory Coast who can also slot into the midfield and attacking flanks.
With 42 caps to his name, Konan won the African Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast and played in every minute of the Ivorian’s third-ever triumph in the competition.
The 28-year-old was one of the best players on the park as he helped his national team battle back from 1-0 down to win the final against Nigeria 2-1 in front of a 60,000 home crowd in the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara.
Konan has also played for Vitoria Guimaraes and Stade Reims before making the move to the Saudi Pro League in 2022 where he enjoyed stints with Al Nassr and a loan spell at Al Fayha where he helped his loan club reach the last 16 of the AFC Champions League before his contract expired last month.
Konan’s strengths at the African Cup of Nations could help Celtic
Konan was one of the best players at the AFCON tournament for the Ivory Coast. Rated 7.9 for the final win against Nigeria by Fotmob, Konan showed good defensive and attacking abilities that could benefit Celtic.
In the 90-minute final, Konan had 85 touches with a passing accuracy of 97%. The defender also created one chance and made eight passes into the Nigerian’s final third.
Defensively, Konan put in a shift with three clearances, five defensive actions and five ball recoveries. The 28-year-old also all six of his duels to help the Ivory Coast record a famous win in the tournament.
As a free agent, surely taking a punt on Konan is risk-free especially with Greg Taylor’s contract running down and Alex Valle being a temporary solution to Celtic’s long-standing left-back issue.
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