With Celtic’s season as good as done, they can start preparing for next term.
It will be a vital summer for the Hoops, one where they’ll welcome a new manager, a new CEO and a director of football.
What’s the word?
Crucial to Celtic’s future will be the upcoming transfer window. A mass 12-man exodus could occur if you take on board The Athletic’s predictions but they have already signed Liam Shaw on a pre-contract.
Another player who could arrive is Motherwell’s Allan Campbell. Speaking on the latest episode of A Celtic State of Mind podcast, Colin Watt said:
“Someone I’d love to see us pick up – and I believe he’s actually available right now to sign a pre-contract – is Allan Campbell at Motherwell. I think the guy’s got a really big future ahead of him.
“He’s obviously played alongside [David] Turnbull before. And I think he could be the next Scott Brown in that position. He plays a sort of box-to-box the way that Brown did in his younger years.
“And I think as he develops, he’ll drop deeper and deeper into the pitch and he offers a lot. If you had the choice between him and Ferguson, for me, it would be Allan Campbell.”
Do you want Campbell at Celtic?
Definitely
No thanks
Imagine him and Soro
If Celtic do indeed end up pursuing the 22-year-old, it would be great news for supporters.
Campbell has been one of the most consistent members of the Motherwell side this term and is incredibly highly rated in various circles.
The midfielder has been capped 24 times by Scotland U21s and although he is yet to get a senior call-up, the chances of achieving that would surely be elevated if he moves to Parkhead.
Though, there’d be plenty of positives for the Bhoys too. That’s because as Watt describes, the 22-year-old plays in a similar way to Brown did when he was younger. Furthermore, he also plays a bit like a certain Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder.
“John McGinn has obviously progressed really quickly but there are definite similarities. I remember playing against him and Kenny McLean and thinking that the two boys could go somewhere,” Motherwell assistant Keith Lasley once said.
Possessing plenty of energy and athleticism, he could create a scintillating partnership with someone like Ismaila Soro.
The Ivorian had to wait patiently for his chance at Celtic once he got time on the pitch, he was exceptional. The midfielder is a tough tackler and made as many as ten successful challenges in the club’s win over Lille in the Europa League.
Campbell is very much cut from a similar cloth. He’s made two tackles per game in the SPFL this term, a tally that’s coincidentally identical to Soro’s.
With the two of them playing in the same midfield, Celtic would undeniably be a tougher team to break down. For a unit who have conceded 14 more goals than Rangers in the league, this should be music to the ears of the Green Brigade.