There will be plenty of players and journalists who have been on the end of an Ange Postecoglou death stare over the years.
You just don’t expect to see it on stage at a fun-filled fans Q&A event. Poor Scott McDonald must have been getting flashbacks to his time with the Socceroos under the Hoops boss. The former Celtic striker was a superb MC in Sydney as he posed the questions from the huge crowd to a selection of players and the gaffer.
One of them was about who Postecoglou is going to sign in January, but Scotty got a swerve and a swift stare, along with the now famous ‘mate’ reply the hacks usually get when we go down this road. Postecoglou likes to keep his cards in a high-security vault – never mind close to his chest – when it comes to transfer affairs. But there’ll be interesting questions to come when the window opens.
The Celtic manager is plotting away in the background. Defender Yuki Kobayashi looks a done deal, with the Vissel Kobe centre-back seeming a certainty to join the Japan contingent at Celtic Park. Elsewhere? It’d be no surprise to see another striker arrive.
Another right back could be on the shopping list as well with Josip Juranovic looking increasingly likely to be on his way. It’s the departures issue that’ll the big question at Parkhead in coming weeks. Postecoglou laid the groundwork a few weeks ago when he warned fans not to get too attached to their heroes as he will be flogging them sharpish.
That could be sooner than some think. Or hope. The manager clearly had a list of targets he wants in this next window – and it’s not a stretch to think he might need to punt a few to fund them.
But who has the for sale sign around the neck? Probably all of them. That’s the reality. There have been times when Celtic have seen certain stars as crown jewels who simply could not be sold, regardless of the price.
Fans would be at Parkhead with pitchforks if they dared pack their bags. Not now. Postecoglou’s strike rate in the transfer market has removed that fear. One goes? He’ll find another. It’s a confidence and belief in his ability to source a player that the club could have done with back in the Ten-In-A-Row bid season.
Celts didn’t have faith in their own recruitment to cash in on Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer when they should and tried to hold on to them for the big push. It backfired, of course, and they should have had confidence in their own system – that was already working – to dig out suitable replacements. There’s no such faffing about with Postecoglou. Now it depends on what offers come in, at what level, and what buttons the boss needs to press to replace them.
There will be plenty. Postecoglou spends endless hours poring over scouting reports and discussing targets with recruitment folk he trusts, such as Mark Lawwell at Celtic. It might be just a question of value for money for his own men. Juranovic? A good World Cup might see bids north of £10million. He’s a decent player but hands would be snapped off for that kind of money. But who else? Matt O’Riley looks potentially a mega asset.
Celtic could make a quick buck on him now but he could be one to hang on to until the summer and get Keiran Tierney kind of money. It’s the same with Reo Hatate and it would be interesting to see what would happen if Cameron Carter-Vickers gets a show in Qatar. Chuck in Jota and Kyogo and it could be a nervous month for Hoops fans. Even if the manager doesn’t have any problems saying goodbye to his.
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