Celtic‘s excellent season continued on Wednesday night time, pulling seven factors clear on the high of the Scottish Premiership desk, because of a 1-0 victory over title challengers Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
Reo Hatate’s pleasant chest management and end, having been magnificently performed in behind by Greg Taylor, was sufficient to see the Hoops gather all three factors within the North East.
Brendan Rodgers’ facet have subsequently collected 40 factors out of a attainable 42 within the league, are by way of to the League Cup Remaining, agency favourites to beat Rangers at Hampden in ten days’ time, whereas the Celts additionally at the moment discover themselves on the right track to succeed in the Champions League knockout section, forward of Tuesday’s essential journey to Zagreb.
Whereas all is effectively on the pitch, switch chatter isn’t too far-off, given how profitable Celtic’s participant buying and selling mannequin has been for effectively over a decade, so may they go in for a reasonably well-known Premier League star?
May Christian Eriksen transfer to Celtic?
In keeping with a report by Football Insider, Celtic are concentrating on a transfer for Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen, claiming Rodgers want to add some European expertise, as Celtic search to interrupt new floor, in fashionable phrases anyway, within the Champions League.
There are nevertheless, loads of caveats and obstacles, not least the truth that Erkisen is incomes £150k-per-week, whereas Celtic’s highest-paid participant, long-standing captain Callum McGregor, earns merely 1 / 4 of that, his reported wages of £37k-per-week, having signed a brand new, five-year contract in July 2023.
Soccer Insider concede that this may preclude any potential transfer in January however Eriksen, who will have a good time his thirty third birthday on Valentine’s Day, is out of contract subsequent summer season, so is at the moment set to be obtainable on a Bosman.
Fabrizio Romano has beforehand stated that he believes Erkisen will depart Man United on the finish of the season, so may a transfer to the serial Scottish champions be on the playing cards?
Transfer Focus
Mega cash offers, controversial strikes and big-name flops. That is the house of switch information and opinion throughout Soccer FanCast.
How Christian Eriksen compares to Matt O’Riley
In the summertime, Celtic offered Matt O’Riley to Brighton for a £25m fee, equaling the report sale for a Scottish membership, alongside Kieran Tierney’s transfer to Arsenal 5 years earlier, in addition to the payment paid by Saudi Professional League facet Al-Ittihad for Jota’s providers in 2023.
So would Erkisen, a person boasting 296 Premier League appearances, characterize a superb substitute for his Danish worldwide teammate O’Riley?
|
O’Riley vs Erkisen: 22/23- current |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metrics |
O’Riley |
Eriksen |
|
Matches performed |
95 |
112 |
|
Minutes |
7,116 |
7,439 |
|
Begins |
86 |
84 |
|
Objectives |
22 |
12 |
|
Assists |
29 |
23 |
|
Progressive carries |
16 |
75 |
|
Progressive passes |
62 |
370 |
|
Pictures |
209 |
132 |
|
Passes |
432 |
2,920 |
|
Touches |
708 |
4,043 |
Again in his prime, the Dane was definitely a inventive marvel however is that also his recreation? As outlined within the desk above, taking knowledge from the beginning of the 2022/23 season onwards, O’Riley and Erkisen have very completely different participant profiles within the present day.
O’Riley is deployed considerably increased up the park and is far more of a aim risk, therefore why he is scored extra objectives, offered extra assists and had considerably extra photographs throughout this era.
Eriksen used to play like that in his peak at Tottenham however is now far more of a deep-lying, Andrea Pirlo-esque, conductor, emphasised by the very fact he produced nearly seven instances as many passes and had shut to 6 instances as many touches.
“I’m undecided that Christian Eriksen would get into the [Celtic] staff. He’s an aesthetic participant… however I’m undecided who he would are available in to switch” including “you’d have to contemplate the wages… I can’t see it occurring.” – Neil Lennon on Eriksen.
As Lennon says above, it might be fairly tough to envisage the place he matches into the facet. The Hoops are well-stocked in midfield as it’s, spending an honest quantity of the £25m free acquired for O’Riley on Arne Engels, who arrived from Augsburg for a club-record £11m on Deadline Day.
Again in September, throughout the shellacking of Slovan Bratislava, Engles turned solely the second Celtic participant to each rating and help in a Champions League match, after Henrik Larsson, who wasn’t unhealthy was he?
The Belgian, who’s additionally grow to be a full-international this season, alongside mid-week match-winner Reo Hatate, have been first-choice for almost all of this season, however Rodgers additionally has Paulo Bernardo, whose mortgage transfer was made everlasting at a price of £3.5m this summer, in addition to new-arrival Luke McCowan at his disposal. Loads of choices however Eriksen may effectively be a high quality rival to the present crop at Parkhead.
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