Celtic Transfer Options - Left Back

Although Greg Taylor gives his all and tries his best in a Celtic shirt, he rarely stands out and catches the eye. The Scot is a satisfactory back up option. Boli Bolingoli hasn’t had a place in the starting eleven or the bench for Celtic’s last three competitive games with youngster Adam Montgomery being preferred to the Belgian. It wouldn’t be astonishing to see the 26 year old depart Celtic this summer after his scandal at the beginning of last season. If this happens, Celtic would more than likely need another left back. Even if Bolingoli stays, Ange Postecoglou may look for more quality at left full back and something better than what he’s got. Today, I’ll be looking at five players who could come through the door and do so. 

Gabriel Gudmundsson - Henrik Larsson, Johan Mjallby and Mikael Lustig are just a couple of names that spring to mind when you think of Swedish Celtic players. The club has even acquired yet another this summer with the addition of Carl Starfelt. The next should be Gabriel Gudmundsson. The 22 year old has played for FC Groningen in the Eredivisie for the past two seasons after joining them from Halmstads in his homeland. Gudmundsson can play anywhere down the left flank although his primary position is left back. FC Groningen usually play a three/five at the back system where Gudmundsson is required to cover the whole left channel. This may be the reason behind his admirable attacking output for Groningen. He’s scored 2 goals and registered 5 assists in 33 appearances. The Swede is more of an attacking full back than anything, he’s an avid ball carrier who’s averaged 2.2 successful dribbles per match in his time in the Netherlands. He likes to cut inside with the ball when dribbling. Gudmundsson can also play early crosses into the box which are of great accuracy most of the time. With Greg Taylor at left back, teams have looked to exploit his lack of physicality. This wouldn’t happen with Gudmundsson as the Swede stands at 5”11. There have been some top clubs linked with Gudmundsson though. The likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, Ajax and Napoli have all been associated however the most concrete interest has came from Lyon. Dutchman Peter Bosz is their coach and it is believed Gudmundsson is valued at €7 million. This is definitely within Celtic’s price range however the 22 year old’s contract runs out next summer. He does have the option to extend it by a a year though so that is why the significant fee could be justified. 

Fredrik Andre Bjorkan - Bodo Glimt cantered to the title in the Norwegian Eliteserien in the 2020 season. They currently trail league leaders Molde by 8 points 14 games into the 2021 campaign albeit they have a game in hand. They have been acclaimed as the Scandinavian Atalanta and Fredrik Andre Bjorkan has been one of their key players in the past few seasons. The left back has a respectable attacking record with 4 goals and 10 assists in his past 72 league appearances for Bodo Glimt. The 22 year old possesses illustrious dribbling ability as well as vision. In 85 appearances for Bodo Glimt in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Eliteserien campaigns, Bjorkan has made 1.5 successful dribbles and 1.1 key passes per match. With such attacking statistics, you may think Bjorkan would lack defensively although this is not the case. He’s made 1.6 successful tackles per match in the last 4 years. The Norwegian likes to get to the bye line and provide cut back crosses for his team mates. Bjorkan is fairly quick as well and boasts a great turn of pace. When winning back the ball, the 22 year old likes to use his physicality and 5”11 stature to do so. The defender is also a Norway Internationalist with one cap to his name. It may sound too good to be true however Bjorkan only has 4 months left on his current Bodo Glimt contract. It expires on the 31st of December this year so if Celtic were attempting to acquire the services of Bjorkan this summer, the fee would be exceedingly minimal. The Norwegian is such a well rounded player and it wouldn’t be astounding if he was on the radar of several European clubs. 

Yvann Maçon - Saint-Etienne have produced some esteemed defensive talents in recent years. Both William Saliba and Wesley Fofana have secured moves to the Premier League after spending just a season, or even less than that, with the French side. Yvann Maçon is a left back who has only made 9 senior appearances across his career, if you don’t count the games he played with USL Dunkerque in the National League before joining Saint-Etienne that is. At 22, this would certainly be a precarious transfer considering Maçon’s injury problems; a cruciate ligament caused him to miss five months of football in the 20/21 season. He ended up making 6 appearances that season although his stats show a promising player with raw potential. The 22 year old made an average of 3.3 successful tackles per match as well as 1.5 interceptions per match in the 6 games he played in 20/21. His attacking output didn’t lack either; Maçon averaged 1.3 successful dribbles per match and scored 1 goal and got 1 assist. In addition, the Frenchman would more than likely fit into Ange Postecoglou’s system. Being right footed, he could potentially excel in an inverted fullback role, it could also mean right back is within Maçon’s repertoire. As mentioned, this would definitely be a high-risk transfer but if Maçon’s continues to perform to his current levels, he could shine in green and white. 

Kenneth Paal - The Dutchman came through the academy at PSV and went on to make 7 appearances for the club before leaving for PEC Zwolle on loan. The move was soon made permanent after Paal made 32 appearances in his first year at the Eredivisie club. In total Kenneth Paal has made 75 appearances for PEC Zwolle in the league, scoring 3 goals and assisting a further 7. One of Paal’s strong points is his crossing however the 24 year old is a also and coherent dribbler who’s averaged 1.3 successful dribbles per game in the 18/19, 19/20 and 20/21 Eredivisie campaigns. This consistency is also transparent in his reading of the game. Paal made 1.5 interceptions per match in the same time frame as his dribbling stats. The full back is also singularly innovative, for a defender at least. He’s made 1.3 key passes per game in the last 3 seasons. Paal has even been linked with Celtic already this summer. He was quoted by De Stentor saying “It's such a big club, with such a history, that's always nice to hear. That just shows that you're doing a good job”. Paal currently has one year left on his PEC Zwolle contract. Barnsley reportedly had a £650,000 bid rejected. This gives an indication of what region Paal’s price tag is in. As is the case with every player in these articles, the player is certainly affordable for Celtic. 

Kai Wagner - Kai Wagner took an unorthodox career move when he joined MLS side Philadelphia Union from Wurzburger Kickers in 2019. The German has made 69 appearances in the American top flight across the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Wagner is a 6”0 tall, physical defender who’s averaged 1.3 successful tackles per match in his time in the States. His reading of the game is not destitute either with 1.4 interceptions each game in his MLS career. The 24 year old isn’t the quickest player in the world although he makes up for this with his afore mentioned physicality and accurate crossing ability. He’s made 1.4 accurate crosses per game in the 19 he’s played in the MLS this season. As well as crossing, Wagner can also make pivotal passes, averaging 1.1 key passes per match in his Philadelphia Union career. The German is a well rounded full back and his bodily style of play could help him shine in the SPFL. Wagner has been one of the MLS’ top full backs since his arrival to the league in 2019. 2 goals and 10 assists in 69 games have helped in gaining interest from Premier League and Bundesliga sides. It would be tough for Celtic to see off this competition however a move to Glasgow would give Wagner the chance to play in Europe and win trophies. The 24 year old was picked as a 2021 MLS All-Star therefore Celtic and Ange Postecoglou would be getting one of the best defenders from across the pond. 

Thank you very much for reading. As always, these are only suggestions and am I in no way linking these players with Celtic. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Josh_Footblog.