Ange Postecoglou has cut a relaxed figure in pre-season so far and it’s easy to see why. There’s usually the odd bump in the road at this stage. There could be a bad injury to a key man, a hefty defeat in a friendly or maybe even the odd bust up behind the scenes. But it’s all been pretty smooth for the Celtic boss up to this point and 12 months on from having to cobble together a side, his main issue now is fitting all of his main men in. Not a bad problem to have.
Postecoglou will need a decent sized squad, with his team expected to compete on all fronts. But it still leaves the question over what is his strongest starting lineup. The back five probably takes care of itself – with Alexandro Bernabei and Greg Taylor fighting it out on the left – and Callum McGregor will be the first name on the team sheet.
You’d think Jota is another certainty but the rest might be all ready to rotate. The really interesting one is up front. Who is Celtic’s main striker? Not so long ago it would be an easy answer. It would be Kyogo all day long. He is the best striker at the club, after all. But I don’t think that means he’s a nailed on starter every single week.
Giorgos Giakoumakis has fired himself right in to the equation. So much so, I actually believe the pair of them might have to share the role this season. Both of them were on target again in midweek and probably for the first time, Postecoglou has each of them fit at the same time.
You look at last season, Kyogo was sensational in the first half of the campaign while Giakoumakis arrived late then got injured. Then when Kyogo was out, Giakoumakis was available and seized his chance in superb style. Both players contributed hugely to Celtic’s title success and while they were around at the same time at the tail end of term, it’s only now you can say they are really fit and firing together.
It’s an outstanding conundrum for Postecoglou and it will allow him to be flexible with his line ups and the way Celtic play. It will be who is best suited to each game on a weekly basis. He can keep rivals guessing because the two of them are so different.
Kyogo is all about pace and movement, playing on the shoulder and spinning in behind. Giakoumakis can throw his weight around, hold the ball up, get in to the box and finish. How do you prepare for that if both are available for selection? You work all week on dealing with Kyogo, then Giakoumakis appears to bully defenders. Or vice versa. You go with a strong centre back partnership to deal with the physical threat – and you end up chasing shadows with Kyogo buzzing around.
Celtic don’t have one main striker now – they’ve got two. Daizen Maeda is there too, but you have to say he’s looked more of a threat in the wide areas than through the middle, as he’s not quite as natural a finisher as the other two. And who is to say it will be one of the other with Kyogo and Giakoumakis anyway? Postecoglou could play both.
Kyogo wasn’t an out-and-out No.9 in Japan and there could be times when the pair of them play as a partnership. It’s a frightening prospect for defences. Like I say, nice problems for a manager to have. It’s now mainly about making tweaks rather than huge changes for Postecoglou. I still think another centre back is a must as the writing is on the wall for Christopher Jullien.
The manager has said the right things but it looks like he’s clearly not having the Frenchman, for whatever reasons. I think Jullien has been good for Celtic. You only have to look at his displays in rearguard action games against Lazio and Rangers in the League Cup Final a few years ago.
It might be the way Celtic play now doesn’t suit him and Postecoglou feels he could get left exposed. The collapse of the Schalke move was a blow to both parties but it could work in the favour of all parties. Jullien might be needed and he has to take the opportunity. He might surprise his manager and save having to splash out on another centre half.
Mikey Johnston is in a similar position. He needs a big pre-season – but even that might not be enough to see him securing a key role at the club. Johnston is a talented lad but the injuries have killed him. He’s been the next big thing for years now and it’s simply not happened.
Unless he really sparks to life, he’s not going to dislodge Jota, Liel Abada, Maeda or James Forrest. I wouldn’t be surprised if Postecoglou adds another wide man as well. Postecoglou has got plenty of attacking options – it’s up to Johnston to make sure he’s one of them.
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