Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side is flying high once again in the Scottish football circles and could finish the season with three trophies.
Two are already in the bag after garnering an unassailable 95 points in the league title race ahead of arch rivals, Rangers. Celtic also beat Rangers 2-1 in February to win the League Cup.
While they are set to face Rangers next in the league, Celtic’s energies for now are focused on a final trophy of the season, when they take on Inverness in the FA Cup final.
Champions League
The performance in the league so far confirms Celtic’s place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League next season, but that is just the beginning of the work Australian manager Postecoglou has ahead of him. First of all he has to chop and rebuild this summer in preparation for the tough midweek clashes that await. So far, Postecoglou seems to be holding on to the core of his team as he targets a treble, and not many players have been linked with the team. However, things are bound to move fast in the coming months, in preparation for a season that starts in August. The club, at the moment, has been linked with two players, both who it made overtures to in the recent past. Barcelona winger Alex Collado was said to be in Celtic’s radar last summer but a deal didn’t happen and he left for a season-long loan at Elche. Meanwhile, Korean forward Cho Gue-sung is another player that might tickle Celtic’s interest. After a good showing at the 2022 World Cup, the striker was linked with a move to Celtic but opted to stay on with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. A move for him may be reignited, with German side Mainz also reported to be in his chase.
Biggest focus
That is just about the players linked with the club for now, but there could be a host of others heading out, which for the moment will not be Postecoglou’s biggest headache as he focuses on the coming final. A run of 19 wins in 20 matches has kept Celtic top on the football predictions to keep winning the next matches, as previewed on Sportytrader and keeping that run going will be the biggest focus area for the manager. However, he must be strategizing at the back of his mind on how to hold on to key players, the biggest being Israeli forward Liel Abada who had had over 10 goal contributions this season.
The forward is said to be attracting interest from the Premier League, and such, as time has proven, have been tough to resist. The Israeli’s stats this season have been impressive despite limited starts but he holds a promise for Celtic when the team needs a backup in a busy season and it will not be a surprise if Postecoglou tries to hold on him at the expense of a big money move. The push and pull will likely be lesser for Ismaila Sorro, the Ivorian midfielder who seems to have found a home in Portugal at Arouca, where he plays regularly and the club has an option to buy.
