We’ve looked at the goalkeeping position, fullbacks, and centre-backs available to Brendan Rodgers as he begins his second stint in charge at Celtic, now it is time to look at the midfield options.
The engine room of the park, the centre of the midfield area is probably the strongest area within the Celtic squad. That said, if Celtic want to make progress in Europe, it is still an area that Celtic look could look to strengthen yet further.
As Alan Morrison of ACSOM and The HuddleBreakdown has pointed out more than once, there is a lack of height, athleticism, and physicality in the Celtic midfield. Something that comes to the fore on the European stage.
Under Ange, Celtic maintained a consistent 4-3-3 formation with Callum McGregor a constant in the number 6 role. In front of the Celtic captain, Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley, and Aaron Mooy rotated between the number 8 and 10 roles.
However, if Rodgers returns Celtic to the 4-2-3-1 formation that he favoured during his first spell at the club, we may see a change in personnel deployed by the Northern Irishman if he favours a double pivot behind the attacking midfield trio.
Over the next few articles, we will look at the midfielders available to Rodgers, placing each in their strongest role, starting with the number 6’s.
Callum McGregor
What can we say about the Celtic captain that has not already been said 1,000 times over? McGregor is the heartbeat of the Celtic side and indispensable to the club’s drive for future honours.
McGregor has grown into the role of captain over the past two seasons, playing and acting like he was born to be a leader; and making people like me, who doubted whether he had the nastiness to make it as captain, eat very large slices of humble pie. It tastes great by the way.
A great reader of the game with fantastic passing skills, McGregor also has the ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag his team over the line when it matters most.
Captain. Leader. Legend. McGregor will be the man to anchor Rodgers’ midfield next season.
Tomoki Iwata
We covered Iwata in the centre-backs assessment, however, under Brendan Rodgers, I get the feeling he will primarily be used in the midfield as a double-pivot alongside Callum McGregor.
Arriving in January, Iwata took a while to make his mark on the starting team, mainly due to the good form of McGregor, Hatate, and O’Riley ahead of him. However, the Japanese brought an additional level of calm and composure to the side whenever he was introduced.
His substitute appearance in the 3-2 Glasgow Derby success in April was key to Celtic finally gaining the upper hand in the midfield and securing a title-winning victory.
The early impressions of Iwata as a high-level ball-winner with good distribution make him a strong candidate to play a starring role should Rodgers opt for the double pivot in midfield.
James McCarthy / Ismaila Soro / Yosuke Ideguchi
The trio of McCarthy, Soro, and Ideguchi, played a grand total of 62 minutes for Celtic last season, pocketing over £20,000 per week between them in the process. In fact, the only one of the three to pull on the Hoops last season was James McCarthy; the Irishman’s last outing coming back in October.
While all three can point to injuries as a cause of their lack of game time, none have truly impressed when given an opportunity in the side. The fact that Ange was constantly looking to bring in another number 6 to partner McGregor – see Abildgaard and Iwata – and that Matt O’Riley dropped back to anchor the midfield when McGregor was injured tells its own story.
Of the three, McCarthy may have some hope that Rodgers can work the same wonders on his career as he did with Scott Brown, however, it looks like the 32 year old’s Celtic career is heading into terminal decline.
Soro has not lived up to the original hope that his livewire, all-action approach in midfield brought during the dark days of the failed bid for 10-in-a-row. He is a player who always looks like he has yellow card in him, and his ill-disciplined approached in the centre of the park won’t get him far under Rodgers.
As for Ideguchi, he may well be one of the most unfortunate players in the Celtic squad. The Japansese midfielder’s Celtic career halted before it really got underway after suffering an injury at Alloa in the Scottish Cup in January 2022.
Since then, fitness issues limited his matchday squad appearances and three games into a loan spell at Avispa Fukuoka Ideguchi suffered another serious ankle injury. Unless his luck changes soon, time may run out on Ideguchi to prove his worth in the squad.
None of the three appears to have any sort of future at Celtic given their lack of minutes over the last couple of seasons. If possible, Celtic should be looking to move them all on and free up some wages for some more deserving players.
Odin Thiago Holm
New signing Holm now also makes the list of potential number 6’s at Brendan’s disposal. We’ve done a full review on his abilities that you can read here. The Norwegian’s arrival give Rodgers three top-quality options for the number 6 role along with McGregor and Iwata. While I do not he will be the last midfielder to sign this summer, he may be the last number 6.
Kevin McCluskie
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