ANGE Postecoglou has candidly acknowledged that Celtic are bracing themselves for some substantial offers for some of his top stars, drawing a parallel between managing the club and the strategic game of JENGA.

Ange Postecoglou
Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Celtic v Aberdeen – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – May 27, 2023 Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou reacts REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Celtic’s recruitment strategy over the recent years has been to invest modestly and reap high returns, a model which has proven to be remarkably successful with players such as Moussa Dembele, Jeremie Frimpong, Josip Juranovic and others epitomising success stories in the transfer market.

The current cadre of talent at Celtic Park, including Reo Hatate, Kyogo, Liel Abada, and Matt O’Riley, would undoubtedly be fitting candidates should they become the subject of bids, and the manager would certainly not dismiss the possibility.

However, the manager’s backup plan has always worked out well, with Alistair Johnston arguably upgrading the right-back role and Oh Hyeongyu showing some really promising signs.

As quoted by Football Scotland, Ange Postecoglou admitted that he was braced for some top-money offers for some of his players, but is looking forward to the challenge of replacing any player who does leave.

He said:

“It’s not a precise science

“I was trying to be predictive with the January window. We kind of knew Jura[novic] and [Giorgos] Giakoumakis would go. We are losing two very good players who had contributed greatly to our success. We thought Oh [Hyeon-gyu] and Alistair [Johnston] both already looked like good players, they are younger than the guys who left, so potentially could have a higher ceiling if we got it right. That’s always the challenge.

“This is the probably first window where we’ll really get tested on some of our key players by other clubs. Our planning is in place, so if that happens, it’s like the Jenga puzzle, before it all collapses we’ll hopefully already have a piece in place to ensure you can take one out and still build strong. I like that Jenga analogy!”

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