Ange Postecoglou had told friends he has the answers to the cohesion issues that dogged Celtic last season.
According to the Sheffield Star, the pursuit of George Baldock is key, because he plays in England. They state that Postecoglou wants to help Celtic to ‘rediscover’ their identity.
The report indicates that signing players from Scotland and England will be crucial to the spine of the team. However, there will be some influence from overseas players, with Japanese and Australian talents already being linked.
That’s somewhat based on the idea that Celtic didn’t have several players from all over the world during our 9IAR and Quadruple Treble conquests.
The Star said:
“After investigating the reasons behind Celtic’s recent demise, following a decade of total domination, Postecoglou has told friends he suspects the previous regime’s preference for overseas talent has been responsible for diluting team spirit and cohesion behind the scenes.
“The majority of in-coming transfers in Glasgow’s east end are likely to now be playing their trades with English or Scottish clubs. Postecoglou, a specialist in turning around under-performing sides, believes that will help Celtic rediscover their identity; something his research suggests has slowly been eroded over the course of the past few seasons, culminating in last term’s shift in the balance of Old Firm power.”
Will we see fruits of supposed Ange Postecoglou transfer tactic soon?
There is actually some precedent for this.
With Brisbane Roar, Postecoglou got rid of some expensive “talent” from Scotland. Luxury – and we mean this strictly in context – players were jettisoned almost immediately. So, it was bye bye Bob Malcolm and Charlie Miller. Equally, in the J-League, there were a few key foreign talents, including defender Thiago Martins. However, Postecoglou put his trust largely in Japanese players [World Football].
It stands to reason there’d be some continuity in that approach. And honestly, it wouldn’t be too radical a departure, looking at our best squad of the last decade, the Invincible team. While, yes, there are key talents from abroad, including Mikael Lustig and Moussa Dembele, the bedrock of the team was Scottish.
However, there are a couple of issues here. How does the Sheffield Star know the ins and outs of private chats the Celtic manager is conducting? Not only that, we’re being continually linked to excellent players from outwith Scotland. Surely there’s room for both?
It’s not up to us to tell Ange Postecoglou how to conduct his business. If he did follow this transfer model, he’d be following successful Celtic managers in doing so. The proof of how true this is will be in the results. He’s already got a solid Scottish contingent, but there’s enough talent from the country to add it to it.
READ MORE: More transfer thoughts from Ange Postecoglou as rebuild hots up
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