The sheer volume of players that I've looked at to do this 3 part blog could see me ending up writing a Celtic recruitment series that would run for longer than the Carry On and Police Academy films put back to back. It's so bad that I fear my wife might divorce me if she looks at my laptop one more time to find me searching for footage of random men in Argentina and Japan.
This last part (for now) is 3 players and a few mentions of others that I will look to feature as we move forward this blogging journey. So let us begin by heading back to South America to find ourselves that deep lying midfield dog to add that bit of bite, without having to sacrifice the principles Ange Postecoglou lives by.
HE AIN'T HEZZE, HE'S MY BROTHER.... ACTUALLY HE IS HEZZE
Name: Santiago Hezze
Age: 21 Years Old
Position: Central Midfielder
Nationality: Argentine
Club: Huracan
The number 5 shirt in the Huracan midfield, every teammate should love him, and every opponent probably hates him. We had a character like that not so long ago, fairly successful chap as well.
Santiago Hezze is that protective layer in the middle of the pitch, if he was a dog he'd pee all over it so the other dogs who entered know it's his territory, and by entering casa del Hezze you best be ready because if he's near then you aren't getting an easy route to his box.
His aggression on and off the ball and ability to understand play patterns and cover spaces that would represent great areas of danger is really impressive. If a challenge is there to be won then you know he'll be there, and if the threat is the space you might leave then he's incredibly good for such a young player at knowing when it's better to step away and plug that gap instead.
The one thing Hezze certainly is not is a ball runner, he's no slouch, but his preferred means of driving the game from deeper areas is pass and move, a quick one two and once the phase of play has gone away from him he is always looking to position himself in a manner that gives his team an out route to change the direction of attack, or if a break occurs he is quick to cover areas that he identifies as a threat. He does have a lovely weight of chipped pass to turn defences and give attackers something to run on to and he uses it to great effect.
Funnily enough he played a game against Lanus where he regularly covered over to stop the threat of Bernabei. He also done a great job in stopping the talented Frank Fabra form getting a free reign in a game vs Boca Juniors. The only game I seen him have a rougher time of it was against Tigre when Mateo Retegui and Alexis Castro gave Huracan a rough time. Part of that 1-1 game seemed to be Huracan suffering that age old problem that many teams have when playing against 10 men for the final 35mins.
Last but not least the thing that gives him the ability to do what he does, the engine under the hood. He maintains a level of intensity that takes me back to best days of Scott Brown and like Brown he has captained his team a few times which suggests that he carries the respect of his manager and team. A great compliment for a someone who's only in his second full season at Huracan having been an academy player. It likely adds to the way he leads with the passion with and without the armband that his fans love.
Just to pour a little extra sparkle on this player, his contract doesn't have long left, but as per usual the people at Ajax, Porto, PSV and many other purveyors of fine talent are watching closely.
COLOMBIAN SPEED
Name: Santiago Moreno
Age: 22
Position: Winger
Nationality: Colombian
Club: Portland Timbers
Ange proudly stood infront of us all and declared "WE NEVER STOP". Step forward Santiago "Duracell" Moreno. This kid wandered into the right club at the right time when he moved from America De Cali in his homeland to the Timbers. He has spoken of how some of the other Colombians in the squad really looked after him when he initially made the move to the MLS.
He's now around 60 games deep into his time in the MLS and the impressions are really positive. The positives seem to just keep coming for the lad just now as he's just been called up to the Colombian national team alongside a few other Colombian prospects who are also doing good work in the MLS.
In Part 1 I discussed the idea of moving Abada on if the right deal came along and this guy tops my list of potential replacements for 3 reasons.
First off, this guy can graft. Wingers come in all shapes and sizes these days and Santiago is more of a traditional one size wise, but unlike many wingers he rarely disappears in games even when things aren't going his way. He really never seems to stop, whether it be on the front foot driving the play down the sides or coming inside on attack. On the flip side he is happy to press aggressively and puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. He doesn't always win the challenge but he never makes life easy. Portland get a decent amount of cheap balls back because of the positive pressure Moreno brings to their team. Only pity is as a team they lack in other areas so don't make anywhere near enough of the opportunities presented to them.
Secondly his attacking skills don't appear to be hampered by the work he does. His shooting is decent with both feet, his delivery of passes and crossing are very good in the attacking third. He is another player who you look at and think that it must frustrate the life out of him how many good chances he serves up, only to see them wasted, so if he's at Portland next season then you would imagine they'd look to do something to change that. If he somehow ends up wearing Hoops and going full pelt down the touchlines of Celtic Park then Kyogo, GG and the rest can feast on the delivery he'd put their way.
The third reason is he really is a triple threat. Right wing would be his best position, his pace and ability on the ball means he can move to the left side and look to cut inside. Then he also has it in him to drift into the pocket as a 10 because his ability to slide passes between players with good precision means he can be a threat in that role. In our setup that sort of flexibility would create even more potential to really bamboozle defences with the rotations our players could make.
In all honesty I'm kind of amazed he ended up in the MLS. While as a league they have vastly improved in almost every area I'm a little surprised there wasn't more interest in him from his showings at Cali. I can only access highlights, but you watch him playing on pitches that make the Tony Macaroni one look decent and see how he takes the game to teams. Impressive.
I think players who have the sort of player ID he has as an attacker are the ones who are easy to look at and imagine thriving in our kind of setup under Ange. The nice balance of speed, ability, energy, intelligence and ambition just paint pretty pictures in the mind.
Last full one for this overview is the one that has caused me no end of frustration for 2 reasons. Trying to find a left sided defender who actually has a left foot and a Player ID that fits the way we play within the markets we can even dream of shopping in are few and far between.
I still think that many clubs in our bracket looking for this unicorn type defender missed a really great option last year when David Hancko joined Feyenoord for around 6 million euros, but here we are with the man who I think could be a really good addition beside his fellow countryman Carter-Vickers.......
HE GOT AWAY ONCE....
Name: Mark McKenzie
Age: 23
Position : Central Defender
Nationality: American
Club: Genk
Now straight off the bat I'm informed that the link in 20/21 with McKenzie when he left the MLS to come to Europe was valid, unfortunately the person who told me this has no idea what stopped the move from happening and 18 months on McKenzie is doing some pretty solid work for Genk playing on the left side of the central pairing for them. Currently sat top of the Pro League with most goals scored and best defensive record.
Now my first instinct when looking at McKenzie was can you pair a guy who's a smidge above 6ft with Carter- Vickers, but then I watched the footage of him, and he can jump. His athleticism is a vital part of what makes him good. The well-balanced mix of pace, power and footballing ability are why he would appeal to me.
McKenzie also breaks the rules of what I was looking for. I shuttled through scouting metrics and god knows how many players lists looking for a left footed monster that would fit the high press, foot to the floor type play style and I found a right footed one instead and the only reason I started watching him was because of another Genk player who I think is a really great talent, Mike Tresor.
I think the game I was watching that made me look deeper was the 3-1 win versus Antwerp as it should have been easy to keep focus on Tresor as he ran up a hat-trick of assists, but my scrawled notes get jumpy, and we go from Tresors wonderful deliveries to McKenzie and his range of passing from the back. Big Mike has a good right foot, but to my shock he has a left foot that is just as good. So good that after doing more research some sites actually list him as left footed and others as right.... so the conclusion is he is both footed, big bonus points.
We move on to more and more footage and he appeals more, maybe it's because he is very like Carter-Vickers in his stand up, strong defensive body shape and his ability to cover ground. There is just something about him as a defender that works in my mind when I try to imagine him in our team. It is possible he could be a bit too much like Carter-Vickers for it to work as a pairing but it's one that I'd like to see, and hopefully we will see it at the World Cup for the USA. The odds are on it being Zimmerman and Long, however Long isn't having the best of times so Carter-Vickers and McKenzie should be in contention and all it takes is a suspension, injury or even suffering exhaustion from playing in the ridiculous humidity that this joke of World Cup will be played in.
McKenzie does have one minor flaw that comes across and that is that he can sometimes be a bit reliant on using his pace to recover situations that could be stopped with better positioning or by reading the play a second faster. He gets away with it because he does have that burst in him, but the best strikers can cope with that and either have that same burst of speed or have the brain to make that extra yard they're given count. So that would be an area of improvement but at 23 time is on his side.
Overall the positives far outweigh the negatives with McKenzie, and it will be players like this that will define what Celtic as a club plan to do going forward because most of these players that I've brought to this still have a ceiling of ability that could be a well above where they are now, but where they are now is good enough for teams to want good money for them.
JERRY SPRINGERS FINAL THOUGHTS
The question the board need to really consider is what they are willing to spend to see the vision that Ange has happen. I do think he'll stay for a while, but at the same time I don't think he'll take any nonsense or false promises from anyone. He now has a profile in Europe that would attract some decent teams if it became apparent that he was looking for a club that was willing to match his ambitions.
I think we have the makings of a team who can do better on all fronts, especially Europe but to do that we need to be brave and open to the worlds that Ange has begun to scratch the surface of and believe in the team he is trying to design for us as supporters.
That's all for this Celtic overview. I'll carry on posting bits over on the Huddleboard under my Mr Vinegar Strokes account in the lead up to the winter transfer window so feel free to message me on there if you wish to and have access to do so (link below).
I hope those who have read these have enjoyed them. I have certainly enjoyed sticking my head in all the footage, stats and reading a variety of opinion pieces from all corners of the globe to try and learn more about each player that I've come across and there were many I'd have loved to have added to this, some will maybe get their own wee overview in the coming weeks and months so if you get the chance to see guys like Mike Tresor (Genk), Taisei Miyashiro (Sagan Tosu), Mauro Perkovic (Istra), Anibal Moreno (Racing Club) or Youssouf Ndayishimiye (Basaksehir) then you'll likely have a head start on who's coming down the line.
My huge thanks for those who have read these, followed on Twitter, retweeted and liked it is appreciated more than I can explain.
Lastly if you like a wee Celtic transfer rumour or just some good old Twitter banter then please also take a look and drop a follow on the Celtic Underground and you'll find updates for more on this blog on Twitter as well (links below)
Until next time please look after yourselves and each other....
R
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