Ange Postecoglou is now the proud holder of the position of Celtic manager.
It’s a vacancy that had been empty since the end of February when Neil Lennon left in rather embarrassing circumstances.
The Hoops were considerably off the pace and ended the campaign without a trophy to their name. Thus, the pressure on Postecoglou’s shoulders should be enormous.
Celtic are in desperate need of a rebuild and with Scott Brown, another famous face at Paradise to leave, a leadership void and a space in midfield needs to be filled.
Liam Shaw will arrive from Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer at the end of the month but at the age of just 20, it would be foolish to entrust him immediately.
One player touted with a switch to Paradise has been Jack Wilshere. The 34-cap Englishman is at the opposite end of his career to Shaw but shouldn’t be considered by Celtic.
Wilshere is out of contract with Bournemouth this summer and is available on a free transfer but despite his enormous technical qualities, he carries around some excess baggage.
Speaking to This is Futbol last month, Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie had the following to say regarding the 29-year-old’s future: “I don’t think he’d be one that I would certainly be looking at taking particularly. He’s gone into the Championship and I think people have always labelled the Championship as a similar sort of level as the Scottish Premiership, so you’ve got to ask yourself would he fit the bill?”
Hendrie added: “I’m not too sure about that. And that’d be a big, big question mark for me, if he would fit the bill.”
The pundit is spot on his assessment, particularly when you consider his salary demands and his injury record.
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He earned £110k-per-week at West Ham last season and although he took a significant drop in order to join the Cherries, his demands could be out of the reach for Celtic are willing to pay.
Described as the most “overrated” player on the planet by Roy Keane, Wilshere managed to play 18 times for Bournemouth after signing a short contract in January but there are still concerns over his long-term fitness.
The former Arsenal star has suffered 18 different injuries during his career and hasn’t managed to feature in more than 30 games in a single campaign for a decade.
Couple those two factors together and it could make you think of a certain Derk Boerrigter.
The Dutch forward signed for Bhoys in 2013 but only made 26 appearances in a three-year spell, featuring for a grand total of 514 minutes.
On a salary of £12k-per-week, he cost the Glaswegian a considerable amount when you consider his awful injury record.
According to the player, Celtic even made him play through his fitness issues; “Celtic destroyed my career by making me play even though I was injured. That was despite me repeatedly telling them it was not a good idea,” he said back in 2018.
Celtic made a mistake by signing the forward, one they cannot afford to repeat with Wilshere now Postecoglou is at the helm.
He must be allowed to devise his own list of targets.
AND in other news, Celtic eye move for “brilliant” 47-goal star, he’d be a fantastic Edouard successor…