It has been reported today that Celtic are set to round-off their summer business by adding Oliver Abildgaard as their ninth summer signing.
The 26-year old plays as a defensive midfielder which was one of the key positions many Hoops fans believed still needing strengthening.
Currently Celtic captain Callum McGregor tends to occupy the deeper role in midfield which has become a crucial element of Celtic’s play with the ball being able to move from the defence forward players with quick speed.
McGregor could be described as Celtic’s metronome as he dictates the tempo of the team with all good things coming through him.
At present, in the Celtic squad there is currently five players who can slot into that role if called upon which includes James McCarthy, Aaron Mooy, Yosuke Ideguchi, Liam Shaw and Scott Robertson.
There is potential that by the end of the window all that could be remaining out that lot may be Aaron Mooy and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Shaw arrived at Celtic before Ange wasn’t even in the door. The 21-year old featured in pre-season matches last year for the Hoops but has failed to make any sort of impression having been sent out on-loan to Motherwell last season.
Scott Robertson’s time looks as though it could be up at Celtic Park with the club also open to offers for the player. He has had various loan spells away from the club and during this year’s pre-season was recovering from a serious injury. The Celtic academy graduate has one year left on his deal and is likely to be looking elsewhere.
Finally, James McCarthy could also be heading for the exit with the 31-year old attracting interest from down south. The arrival of another defensive midfielder would mean even less game time for the Republic of Ireland international.
Oliver Abildgaard adds yet more quality to the Hoops midfield and could be said to be Nir Bitton’s replacement.
The Danish international looks all but set to make the switch to Glasgow with him coming to a club where he has already played alongside two of it’s current team.
Once again, there is very little risk in this signing with the Hoops set to land Abildgaard for a cut-price deal due to the situation which Rubin Kazan find themselves in.
He may be a key asset when Celtic enter into the Champions League group stages with Mooy who had a fantastic performance against Ross County stating he could play in a ‘double six’ in midfield if he had to.
Every position which needed strengthening has been completed during this window with it also being imperative that those who didn’t have a future at Celtic were moved on.
