Kyogo Furuhashi. Not for sale. Cameron Carter Vickers. Not for sale. Reo Hatate. Not for sale. Goes without saying, Callum McGregor. Not for sale. I’d actually also chuck the likes of Jota and Carl Starfelt into that mix.
Ange Postecoglou might just have walked out the door of Celtic Park. But the club hierarchy has to give their new manager a proper crack at it. Put simply, that means ensuring key players don’t follow him. My view before Postecoglou left was that, if he was going to try to make progress in the Champions League, those influential individuals had to stay.
Now the Aussie has disappeared off to Tottenham, it is even more important the crown jewels within the dressing room are placed under lock and key. Postecoglou worked really hard to build the squad and make it strong. What you most definitely do not want to be doing before a new managerial appointment is to deplete it.
You can’t be whipping the rug away before the guy’s even stepped onto the carpet. Taking this job is going to be challenging enough. The new man needs the best available tools to work with.
It doesn’t need me to tell you that Kyogo is the club’s best striker and Carter-Vickers is their best defender. Hatate was my Player of the Year last season and McGregor is, well, just Callum McGregor.
The captain’s position is not up for debate. He’s got a big job to do, he’s steeped in the club and I’m not sure interest from outside of the club would be of any interest to him in any case were it to arrive. However, that stance might not necessarily be the case for the others, most of whom have been taken into Celtic by the man who has now gone.
I’ve seen plenty of stuff about the fact Postecoglou will come back to Glasgow for Kyogo. The future of Harry Kane is up for debate and, if Real Madrid are serious about the England captain and push forward an offer, you wouldn’t blame him for wanting to go.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy might say he isn’t leaving, but Postecoglou’s mantra at Celtic was quite simple. If you are with us, you are in. If you are not with us or you feel you might want to be elsewhere, you can just go. Can’t see him changing that approach for Kane. Not when he’s trying to put down his rules and philosophy.
Levy is surely not going to force a player onto Postecoglou if that player doesn’t want to be around. Or else why appoint him? On the other hand, Kane may listen to the Aussie’s plans and want to stay right where he is.
I’m of the opinion, and I might be wrong here, that there might be a guilt thing within Postecoglou as regards going back to Celtic for Kyogo. Like I said, I might be miles out. Despite leaving, I do believe he’ll have a great respect for the club.
Mind you, football is selfish. Loyalty doesn’t matter. And it was, after all, Postecoglou who was responsible for Celtic even seeing Kyogo in the first place. But it’s just a hunch. And if I am indeed wrong and he does make a proper offer, I do think that, if Postecoglou manages to build the right side at Spurs, Kyogo would be good enough to fit into it.
Put it this way, he couldn’t go down the road and play for West Ham. Their style would not suit and nor would plenty others. But he has remarkably quick feet and great movement, so a fast and attacking Spurs line-up are making chances for him, he’d stick them away.
Most of these main Celtic stars were signed by Postecogou. Jota, for example, has expressed his gratitude at being given the chance. Hatate and Matt O’Riley got their breaks through him. Carter-Vickers and Starfelt.
Players are used to change. At least they would have the familiar faces of John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan to return to in pre-season, but if Postecoglou gets his hands on that pair as well, it adds another layer of upheaval.
Before most of these issues are decided, Celtic have to get things right in terms of the manager appointment first and foremost and I’m sure they will. They have time, but not an eternity. You’d want a new guy in there for the start of pre-season.
Peter Lawwell came in for plenty of criticism from supporters down the years, if it was he who had the big influence on getting Postecoglou in the door and I believe he was, it was an incredible appointment. So he has to be fully trusted again to give right nudges to Dermot Desmond.
Whoever they pick, he won’t be facing anything like the scenario the Aussie did. There’s a splendid squad in place. Postecoglou made a statement just before he left that some players would be leaving and plans would have been in place. That’s how it works with these deals.
Whoever goes, they can’t be the big guns. If it is, they simply have to be replaced sharply for the sake of the new manager and Celtic also have money to spend. So there’s no reason why they can’t once the manager is in the door
We have talked about the strength in depth at Celtic and it has been both tested and questioned towards the end of the season in some quarters. So any departures must be replaced. Liel Abada wasn’t a regular, but his numbers are staggering. You can’t let him go with a proper replacement and there are clearly other positions where they are going to have to add.
But the last thing any new manager needs is the best of the bunch heading out. That’s the likes of Kyogo, Carter-Vickers, Hatate. Before anyone puts cones out for day one of pre-season training, they should be putting Not for Sale signs around the necks of those boys.
READ NEXT:
