Aaron Mooy is on the brink of being reunited with Ange Postecoglou by signing a one-year deal at Celtic - and the playmaker isn't short of an opinion when it comes to his former boss.
Mooy played for Postecoglou in the Australian national team so the Celtic boss knows all about the quality the midfielder can bring to his squad as he looks to add depth to his midfield following the departures of Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic at the end of last season. The 31-year-old has been back in Scotland after leaving Chinese side Shanghai Port, having moved to Britain when playing for Bolton and spent time with St Mirren on loan before he joined Manchester City and kickstarted his career.
He looks set to find his way back to the Scottish Premiership and will look to make his mark on the Champions League under Postecoglou next term, but the pair haven't always had a straightforward relationship. Tensions between the pair spilled over into the Australian media after Mooy was benched for a crucial Word Cup qualifier against Syria back in 2017.
The bold call from the boss came with Mooy in the form of his career at Huddersfield in the English Premier League, but Postecoglou opted to leave him out of the starting XI, with the playmaker coming off the bench to play a crucial role in the extra time victory. During his post-match debrief, Mooy couldn't hide his frustration.
He said: “I have to try my best when I play. Of course I was angry I wasn’t playing but every player should be angry if they’re not. But once the game got started it was just like another game, I was motivated and wanted to win like every other player on the team.
"I don’t make the decisions, I’ve just got to try my best when I play. The formation was a different today, three No.10s and one sitter. I hadn’t seen it either, but it was the boss’s idea and we all believe in it and go with it. We’ve just got to be a little bit more clinical, it can make a big difference to the team’s confidence."
When quizzed on the decision to leave out Mooy and the comments of the midfielder, Postecoglou was bullish in a response that will be all too familiar to Celtic fans. He said: “It was just a selection decision. We wanted to be a bit more aggressive in attack and Aaron was the one who missed out. It’s not the first time he’s missed out and it won’t be the last time. We’ve done it before."
When Australia did reached the World Cup in 2018, Mooy would be a part of the plans for Australia and made the squad after an impressive campaign in the English top flight. Postecoglou is set to let bygones be bygones once again by green-lighting a transfer for the free agent.
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