Celtic want to sign dream McGregor replacement who’s similar to a £55m star

An enormous summer season awaits for Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic facet.

Having not changed Kyōgo Furuhashi in January, the Hoops shall be concentrating on a brand new centre-forward, whereas Kieran Tierney’s return will create a lot fanfare, changing the outgoing Greg Taylor at left-back.

Within the meantime, forward of an enormous Champions League play-off tie in August, Rodgers will even be trying to bolster his midfield choices, so have the membership recognized their quantity heading in the right direction?

Celtic’s ‘ultimate successor to Callum McGregor’

It is protected to say that Rodgers and Co have been profitable plaudits for his or her recruitment, and it is clear to see why. The return of a fan favorite in Jota obtained supporters off their seats and the identical will happen when Tierney places pen to paper in the summertime. He was, in any case, a little bit of a legend throughout his first stint at Parkhead.

So, what’s subsequent for the Celts?

Effectively, as reported by Soccer Insider, Celtic have ‘recognized’ midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj as Callum McGregor’s ‘ultimate successor’, including that present membership Augsburg could also be prepared to promote for as little as £3m, contemplating he’s out of contract in 2026.

An extra report from Sky Sports activities Germany means that the Premiership outfit are ‘monitoring’ his scenario in Germany, with Besiktas and Hoffenheim additionally taken with his companies.

Rexhbecaj performed alongside Celtic’s record-signing Arne Engles 38 instances in Bavaria, with the 27-year-old having made 84 appearances for the Fuggerstädter in complete, beforehand spending time at fellow-Bundesliga golf equipment Wolfsburg, Köln and Bochum.

In an interview with FIFA’s official website, Rexhbecaj said he’s “blissful at Augsburg”, including that “I’ve obtained the sense that I’m right here for the lengthy haul”, however along with his contract working down, may the German membership resolve to promote?

How Elvis Rexhbeçaj would enhance Celtic

Rexhbecaj’s performances for Augsburg this season have been described as ‘implausible’ by native media, deployed in quite a few totally different midfield positions by supervisor Jess Thorup, however predominantly taking part in as a defensive anchor.

So, let’s analyse his Bundesliga statistics.

Because the desk outlines, Rexhbeçaj’s statistics do not precisely leap off the web page, as he’s fairly stable, if unspectacular, on the subject of passing in addition to the entire defensive metrics, specifically ball recoveries, interceptions, blocks and tackles.

Nonetheless, contemplating that Dominik Schneider of FussballTransfers studies that Parma, Beşiktaş and quite a few EFL Championship golf equipment are all additionally ” in signing him and the truth that FBRef compares him to Newcastle’s £55m man Sandro Tonali, he should be doing one thing proper.

So, may he be the right McGregor deputy, even perhaps the captain’s long-term successor?

Final month’s Glasgow derby defeat to Rangers at Parkhead hammered house McGregor’s significance to this Celtic crew, with Rodgers himself admitting afterwards that there is “little question” his crew missed the skipper, struggling to manage with out the “tactical steadiness” he supplies.

Kieran Devlin of the Athletic labeled McGregor Celtic’s ‘most necessary participant’, and the Hoops’ lack of midfield management with out him highlighted why.

So, let’s examine how McGregor and Rexhbeçaj examine.

Because the desk outlines, McGregor comes out on high for just about each metric this season, % of floor duels gained the only real exception, albeit there are stylistic similarities between the pair.

It is also price bearing in mind that Rexhbeçaj is taking part in at a significantly larger stage; in response to International Soccer Rankings, the Bundesliga is the third strongest league on the earth, whereas the Scottish Premiership ranks forty third.

What is obvious is that Celtic require midfield reinforcements so if Rexhbecaj is obtainable at a cut-price this summer season, he might be a helpful addition.