[ad_1]
Brendan Rodgers and Celtic are closing in on their first signing of the January transfer window. The Scottish Premiership leaders are reportedly “on the verge” of landing wide man Nicolas Kuhn from Austrian club Rapid Vienna for a fee somewhere between £2.5m and £3m.
But that’s not all Rodgers wants to do this month. Football Scotland’s Mark Hendry says that the Hoops boss also wants to add a striker and a left-back to his squad, with Estoril’s Tiago Araujo among the potential targets for the latter role. Celtic apparently made contact over Araujo in November, but it’s been “crickets” since, with no sign of any further movement. That, though, could be about to change.
Celtic may finally make Araujo offer
After a prolonged period of silence, Celtic may now spring into action out of nowhere with an offer for Araujo. As per O Jogo, the Glasgow outfit are preparing a proposal for the Estroil defender.
While fresh contact hasn’t been made just yet, it would appear to be imminent. The Primeira Liga club will refuse to sell him for less than £3.5m, aware that his former club Benfica are entitled to half of the proceeds from his transfer.
Araujo can solve Taylor problem
Portugal under-21 international Araujo moved to Estoril in the summer of 2022 and has since gone on to make 53 appearances for the club, including 23 this season. He’s delivered an impressive attacking output from full-back with six direct goal contributions (three goals, three assists).
Indeed, among left-backs in Europe’s top 10 leagues, he ranks joint-10th for involvements in all competitions. If you look solely at players based in Portugal, only Sporting’s Nuno Santos (12) and Portimonese’s Goncalo Costa (seven) are ahead of him.
Rank |
Player |
Club |
G+A |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Alejandro Grimaldo |
Bayer Leverkusen |
16 |
2 |
Nair Tiknizyan |
Lokomotiv Moscow |
13 |
3 |
Nuno Santos |
Spoting |
12 |
= |
Maxim De Cuyper |
Club Brugge |
12 |
5 |
David Raum |
RB Leipzig |
9 |
6 |
Federico Dimarco |
Inter |
8 |
7 |
Guilherme |
Konyaspor |
7 |
= |
Theo Hernandez |
Milan |
7 |
= |
Goncalo Costa |
Portimonese |
7 |
10 |
Tiago Araujo |
Estoril |
6 |
The stats reflect just how active Araujo is in the opposition final third. Relative to full-backs in comparable leagues over the last year, he ranks in the 85th percentile for crosses attempted per 90 minutes (4.58), and sits sixth in the Portuguese top-flight for completed crosses into the penalty area this season (11). He certainly doesn’t shy away from going for goal himself either, placing as high as the 94th percentile for shots per 90 (1.33).
The 22-year-old’s style of play is no surprise when you consider that he started out his career as a winger before shifting backwards. Talent scout Jacek Kulig has compared the “flamboyant” Araujo to former Spurs and Real Madrid man Gareth Bale, who underwent the opposition transformation in his career.
Rodgers has shown little trust in Alexandro Bernabei as a back-up for Greg Taylor, affording him just 71 minutes of playing time and refusing to start him in any competition. That’s led to Taylor making the XI for every single league match up to this point, and completing 17 of those.
The squad clearly looks unbalanced in that area, with the Scotsman taking on a very high load, but Araujo’s excellent form this season suggests he can provide the kind of cover and competition Rodgers needs. Celtic can expect Estoril to drive a hard bargain in the knowledge that they’ll be forfeiting some of the fee, but their demands look fairly reasonable nonetheless.
[ad_2]
Source link