With Celtic yet to make their first summer signing for the new season ahead, rumours continue to emerge linking Brendan Rodgers to new players almost daily now.
With the goalkeeper position being the priority at the moment, it seems that even filling the number one jersey isn’t stopping the Celtic boss from looking to improve other areas of the team.
At the moment, negotiations are continuing to bring Peter Vindahl Jensen to Celtic but us yet it seems a new player announcement is some way off.
However, that hasn’t stopped the rumours flowing and here, we look into the latest player to be linked with a move to Paradise and why he is of interest to Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Brendan Rodgers ‘wants’ Burnley defender Dara O’Shea
According to the Daily Record, Rodgers wants the Republic of Ireland centre-back and is ‘keen’ to land him this summer.
Purchased for £7m from West Brom in 2023, it could take a huge bid to land an established Premier League defender albeit he will now be plying his trade in the Championship from next season.
With 26 caps to his name, O’Shea has also played alongside Celtic defender Liam Scales against the likes of Portugal, the Netherlands and Hungary.
Contracted to 2027, the Burnley defender now faces a season in England’s second tier and uncertainty over who his new manager will be after the man who purchased him, Vincent Kompany, left to join Bayern Munich this summer.
Why Brendan Rodgers wants Dara O’Shea
The Hoops boss is looking to strengthen the back line and find competition for Liam Scales after Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki failed to impress since their summer moves last year.
At 25 years old, O’Shea fits the transfer profile the Celtic manager is looking for with the right blend of experience and age.
The Irishman has racked up 61 appearances in the Premier League in spells at West Brom and Burnley and despite The Clarets’ relegation, O’Shea was one of their best defenders last season. [Fotmob]
O’Shea made an average of 4.9 clearances per 90 minutes last season which was the highest out of all his Burnley teammates.
He was also the top-rated player for blocks at 0.9 and the third-best player at interceptions with an average of 1.1 every game.
However, at 51.3%, the Burnley defender was one of the poorest in the team for tackling success rate so there is work needing to be done there.
Remarkably, O’Shea created Burnley’s most assists with four and was one of the team’s best passers with an average of 42.9 per game and 3.9 long balls which averaged an impressive 79.7% passing accuracy. He also scored three goals for the Turf Moor side.
O’Shea won an average of 3.9 aerial duels, which was one of Celtic’s main defensive weaknesses last season, and the 25-year-old ranked as one of the best in comparison to other defenders in the Premier League.
Although right-footed, O’Shea is an accomplished centre-back who can play on both sides of a central defensive partnership as well as slotting into the right full-back position.
So there are a lot of positives in there as to why the Irishman would be a good acquisition for Celtic but with Burnley’s managerial predicament, it may be sometime before the fans see any movement on this potential signing.
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