Rodgers has struck gold on “tenacious” Celtic sensation

After a really uncommon defeat final Sunday, can Celtic get their pursuit of yet one more treble again on observe?

Final trip, the Hoops had been crushed by the aspect backside of the Scottish Premiership for the primary time in twenty years, defeated 1-0 by struggling St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

This really means Brendan Rodgers’ aspect have misplaced three of their final six Premiership fixtures, having solely endured two defeats throughout their earlier 46 league outings.

Nonetheless, this’ll merely delay the occasion, and a record-equalling fifty fifth Scottish top-flight title could possibly be secured as quickly as this weekend, if Celtic are in a position to beat Kilmarnock in Saturday’s early kick, after which Rangers are crushed at Aberdeen 24 hours later.

Loads of gamers are getting the plaudits for the Bhoys’ continued monopolisation of Scottish silverware, however one unsung hero goes beneath the radar, harking back to a followers’ favorite of yesteryear.

Aaron Mooy’s Celtic profession

Aaron Mooy solely made 42 appearances for Celtic throughout one season in Glasgow, however he actually left an enduring impression.

He arrived in July 2022, reuniting with Ange Postecoglou, who’d beforehand been his supervisor with the Socceroos, though there have been query marks about this transfer, contemplating the Australian had made simply 31 appearances throughout his two-year spell with Shanghai Port; Chinese language soccer massively affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Eric Knott of Learn Celtic described the signing as ‘underwhelming’, including that the transfer ‘may not work out’, whereas Sean Martin of the Celtic Means didn’t consider the signing made sense.

Quite the opposite, Mooy proved to be a particularly helpful addition, registering seven objectives and 11 assists, that is a objective involvement each 110 minutes on common.

Postecoglou acknowledged there may be “no doubting” Mooy’s high quality however, after the supervisor departed for Tottenham, the midfielder introduced his retirement from soccer, information incoming boss Rodgers mentioned he was “disillusioned” to study, though this was “one thing we completely respect”.

So now, is a present Celtic midfielder having an analogous affect, albeit a participant they’re going to hope to have round for longer than one season?

Celtic may now be brewing the following Mooy

After Hibernian had made 4 unsuccessful bids to signal him final summer time, Celtic finally snapped up Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan on deadline day, paying £1m plus add-ons for his providers.

Provided that the Hoops had additionally simply signed Arne Engles for a club-record price, with Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo already within the squad, many questioned how a lot the 27-year-old would really play.

Properly, to date, this has been cash nicely spent, with McCowan scoring six objectives and accumulating seven assists in hoops, at the moment ranked joint-14th on this season’s Premiership for objective involvements.

His supervisor Rodgers labelled McCowan as “unbelievable”, including that he has been “completely firstclass”, whereas Michael Shearer of the Celts Are Right here praised his ‘excellent performances’.

So, let’s examine how his statistics examine to Mooy’s from a few seasons in the past.

In a near-identical variety of minutes to date, McCowan – who author Kai Watson lauded as “tenacious” – comes out on prime when compares to Mooy for the overwhelming majority of metrics.

The present Celtic star has registered extra objectives and assists this season, whereas additionally racking up greater numbers with regards to photographs and touches in addition to defensive metrics reminiscent of duels received and ball recoveries.

Mooy did create yet one more likelihood and register a barely greater passing accuracy, there’s nonetheless time for McCowan to alter that after all, however all of this proves that the 27-year-old was an absolute cut price at solely £1m.