Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy could be in line for his first start for the club this evening after a strong showing off the bench against Dundee United.
The 31-year-old arrived at Parkhead this summer, joining up with Ange Postecoglou’s squad, after becoming a free agent following his spell in China with Shanghai Port.
Mooy knows the current Hoops boss well from his time spent working under Postecoglou within the Australian international set-up.
He unfortunately, missed the majority of Celtic’s pre-season preparations upon his arrival at the end of July and was given time to get up to speed with his teammates.
After spending several weeks with the Celtic squad in training, the former English Premier League man has also had some minutes on the pitch.
All five of his appearances for the Bhoys in the Scottish Premiership have come off the bench against Aberdeen, Ross County, Kilmarnock, Hearts and Dundee United.
His most recent outing was during Sunday’s emphatic 9-0 victory at Tannadice, and Postecoglou handed the Australian internationalist his longest spell on the pitch so far this season, playing 28 minutes.
During that time, Mooy put in arguably his best showing yet in a Celtic shirt, dictating play from the middle of the park and playing his part in the build-up to several goals.
Of course, with how dominant Ange Postecoglou’s side were in that game, it could be easy to simply write his strong cameo down to the poor performance of the United side.
However, in my opinion, that would be a little unfair for Mooy, who looks to have been building up his match sharpness and speed in recent weeks.
With Celtic preparing to travel to face Ross County in the Premier Sports cup, tonight’s game could mark the opportunity for Aaron Mooy to make his first start for the club.
After building himself up across the last few weeks, this evening’s fixture feels the chance for Postecoglou to introduce Mooy to the starting 11.
Mooy has already had a short experience of playing at Dingwall, having come on as a sub to play the final five minutes of Celtic’s victory in the highlands earlier this season.
However, with a huge few weeks of fixtures ahead, the Celtic manager may be tempted to rest some of his regular first-team starters and introduced a player like Mooy.
It should be interesting to see if the summer signing is named in the starting 11 that starts the game in Dingwall.
With further huge tests to come on the domestic front, it feels like a great chance for the former Huddersfield man to take the next step in improving his fitness and match sharpness.
In other news, Report: Albian Ajeti set for Celtic summer exit; transfer details revealed.
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