Ange Postecoglou could have filled a problem position this summer with the addition of Aaron Mooy, but the arrival could be bad news for Parkhead misfit James McCarthy.
Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic departed at the end of last season with Ange Postecoglou moving swiftly to bolster his ranks in the midfield. Forgotten Ismailia Soro also left the club having fallen out of favour under the Australian boss, with a new midfield enforcer appearing to shoot up the transfer wish list this summer during the pursuit of Vinicius Souza ramping up.
Souza has been tracked by a clutch of clubs this summer with PSV, Real Betis, Schalke and Ajax among the clubs credited with an interest in the Brazilian midfield anchor, before he opted to join La Liga side Espanyol on loan for next season. With the likes of Mohammad Abu Fani and Fausto Vera also linked with a move to Glasgow's east end, many had expected a hard-tackling midfielder to be the next addition through the door.
However, Postecoglou opted to turn to Mooy this summer. Postecoglou knows they player well from his time as Socceroos boss, with Mooy operating more as a box-to-box midfielder back in 2017.
Since then, Mooy has slowly dropped back from a role as an attacking playmaker from his days at Huddersfield in the English Premier League. During his last season at Shanghai Port, Mooy took on more of a defensive role, playing as part of a midfield five.
InStat note that Mooy played 41 per cent of his games last term in a defensive midfield role, in contrast to his attacking heroics Premier League fans will have become accustomed to seeing from Mooy. Just 18 per cent of his games saw him take on a more attacking role.
The majority of Mooy's touches came on his own half, while his percentage of successful challenges on opponents was up from the 2021 campaign, from 54 per cent to 45 per cent. Mooy's successful aerial challenges also shot up from 33 per cent to 42 per cent.
When compared to Souza, the Espanyol new boy had a slightly better defensive record. He won 62 per cent of his challenges, and 68 per cent of his aerial duels. He also completed 8 ball recoveries per game on average, when compared to Mooy's 4.9.
The figures are in line with performances from the likes of Ryan Jack of Rangers last season., with both players taking control of the game in their own half. It could present a solution for Postecoglou in the absence of Souza, but could also present a problem for one current star.
McCarthy struggled for game time during his debut campaign with the Premiership champions. The deep-lying midfielder will now have Mooy to contest with, and Yosuke Ideguchi is likely to be handed more minutes after an injury-hampered start to his Celtic career.
The arrival of the Australian international could have a ripple effect on the 31-year-old's game time this term. It's hard to imagine the increased competition means more minutes for McCarthy, and the Ireland cap faces a big test to win over Postecoglou in pre-season.
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