Celtic have enjoyed so much success both on and off the field at Parkhead in recent years thanks to their player-trading model of buying young players, giving them a platform on which to shine, before selling them on at a profit.
This, as noted by Mark Pirie of the Daily Record, saw the club named the ‘best-run club in Britain’ last year by the Fair Game Index.
However, one player, signed by Ange Postecoglou on the cheap, is still at the club, and remains a key figure in Brendan Rodgers’ side, earning rave reviews.
Ange Postecoglou's biggest successes in the transfer market
When Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic in 2021, as David Hytner of the Guardian puts it, the club was a complete ‘mess… in need of a reboot’ and a mass squad overhaul.
The Australian himself admitted “I was a joke” when he arrived, but defied all expectations by winning five out of six domestic trophies, departing for Tottenham having delivered a treble.
As noted by Callum McFadden of Breaking the Lines, the primary factor behind Postecoglou’s success was his excellent recruitment.
A total of 32 players were signed during Postecoglou’s two-year reign in Glasgow, so here’s a selection of the very best.
Kyōgo
165
£4.5m
£10m
Starfelt
87
£4m
£4.3m
Abada
112
£3.5m
£8m
Juranović
53
£2.5m
£7.5m
Giakoumakis
57
£2.5m
£8m
Jota
91
£6.4m
£25m*
Carter-Vickers
148
£6m
Current player
Hatate
131
£1.4m
Current player
Maeda
146
£1.6m
Current player
O’Riley
124
£1.5m
£25m
Johnston
100
£3m
Current player
Oh Hyeon-gyu
47
£2.5m
£4m
12 players who featured in the table and, of the eight who’ve departed, including Jota, who’s of course returned, Celtic have made a profit of around £65m in the transfer market alone, Matt O’Riley’s move to Brighton the most lucrative.
However, it’s one of these signings, still at the club, who is starring at the moment.
Celtic colossal centre-back
When Cameron Carter-Vickers joined Celtic, initially on loan, in 2021, he was surplus to requirements at Tottenham, having made just five appearances for Spurs, one of which had come earlier that summer, starting a Europa Conference League qualifying defeat to Paços de Ferreira that Nuno Espírito Santo did not take particularly seriously.
Nevertheless, north of the border, he’s been invaluable for Celtic, with Postecoglou describing him as “outstanding”, also calling him both a “leader” as well as the “best defender in the league”, hence why his move was made permanent for £6m the following summer.
Overall, the 27-year-old has made 148 appearances in hoops, winning eight major trophies, taking his tally to 18 caps for the United States during this time too, with Graham Ruthven of Total Soccer Show believing his performances in Scotland should make him USA’s first-choice at next summer’s World Cup on home soil.
So, let’s have a look at some of Carter-Vickers’ stats.
Attempted passes
94.01
99%
Pass completion %
94.2
99%
Progressive passes
4.75
80%
Progressive carries
1.34
90%
Aerials duals win %
2.97
85%
Tackles
1.63
63%
Interceptions
1.04
42%
As the table outlines, when compared to other centre-backs, he ranks highly for both in-possession and out-of-possession statistics, his tackles and interceptions numbers are hampered by the fact Celtic average almost 74% possession in the Premiership this season.
Nevertheless, the American has become irreplaceable in this side, with Rodgers labelling him “top class”, while former U.S. U20s manager Tab Ramos says he has always been impressed by Carter-Vickers “aggressiveness in the air”, underlined by the percentage of aerial duals he wins, ranked third for this metric in this season’s Champions League (minimum 20 duals contested).
His performance against Bayern Munich in Germany last Tuesday led to Alex Barker of the Athletic stating that he was convinced Carter-Vickers to be “the best centre-back outside Europe’s top five leagues”. Fine praise indeed.
According to Transfermarkt, the 27-year-old is now worth more than double what Celtic paid for him, with his value currently at its highest point (£11.5m), reinforcing his status as a bargain signing.
To put that into context, he’s worth more than record-signing Arne Engels (£9m), according to the same source, and worth more than a man who Alistair Johnston believes is “one of the most in-form players in Europe”, Daizen Maeda.
The Japan star is worth £6.5m in the eyes of Transfermarkt, a figure that only goes to prove how great a signing his American teammate has been.
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