Ali McCann: A solution to Celtic's depth problem?

Ange Postecoglou had very little on his bench to actually change the game with James Forrest being the only regular starter from last season to call upon.

Unfortunately for Ange and Celtic, the winger missed the biggest chance of the match. 

The tie drifted away as the game went into extra time where they were ultimately defeated.

Ange had a lack of mobility and legs to reinforce his central midfield as they faded out of the game, having only Tom Rogic to bring on and even when introduced, the Australian struggled to get involved due to the pace of play.

Celtic need to provide Ange with a squad capable of competing and not just 11 good players as the intensity of his philosophy means it's inevitable the squad will be depleted with injuries and fatigue.

One available player with explosive energy in abundance is Ali McCann of St Johnstone.

Could his transfer aquisition provide the Celtic midfield with the depth it so desperately needs and could he even go right into the starting line up?

Player profile

McCann is a 5ft 9in, 21-year-old right-footed central midfielder with lots of potential.

He is a combative player that is strong defensively but also adept at moving the ball forward. McCann has already represented Northern Ireland at international level and recently celebrated his first goal. He has two years left on his deal and could be picked up from the Saints for an affordable fee.

The main positives around signing a homegrown talent is that he wouldn’t run into any issues around quarantine periods, would require little in the way of a settling-in period and could go right into the squad if signed.

McCann would be capable of playing as either the 6 or the 8 in central midfield.

The 6 role would suit him best as he is mobile, strong defensively but still good enough on the ball to get it moving forward.

Heat maps

The heat maps below show McCann (heat map 1) and Callum McGregor (heat map 2) during season 2018-19.

In that campaign, McGregor’s role under Neil Lennon meant he largely featured on the left, not drifting across the midfield as much.

The similarities are interesting as McCann covers a large amount of ground to regain possession and to receive the ball to move it forward. This is fairly similar to how McGregor likes to operate, always getting involved in play. However, McCann is a lot stronger than McGregor defensively.

Radars

For central midfielders I have created 3 radars: defensive, on-the-ball and offensive. Maximum and minimum data used comes from the Scottish Premiership, specifically for players in the same position with at least 10 starts.

Defensive radar: This is where McCann is strongest. He gets into more defensive duels and has more successful defensive duels than any Celtic central midfielder as well as ranking high against his league counterparts. McCann has a defensive duel success rate of 61% which is ahead of both Scott Brown (59.6%) and Ismaila Soro (58.1%). He also regains possession many times per 90 with good positioning and mobility with 5.8 PAdj interceptions.

On-the-ball radar: The young Irishman shows a good profile on the ball having decent accuracy across a range of passing styles. With his young age and coming to a more dominant side, he could look to develop these attributes into elite talents. Where he does need to improve is with penetrative passes such as his low 0.14 smart passes (per 90 minutes) and 0.17 key passes (per 90 minutes). Once these improve, he will be able to create chances with a higher frequency. 

Offensive radar: It is clear here that McCann profiles closer to a number 6 than a 10. He provides very little offensive output, which is to be expected based on his current role and strengths. At Celtic, he would need to start offering more but this is a side of his game that is more of an unknown based on his time in Perth.

However for Northern Ireland, where he played further up the park, McCann was able to make line-breaking runs into the box and get his first international goal. So these data metrics have potential not to reflect his true capabilities.

Conclusion

McCann is a transfer worth developing for Celtic. He wouldn’t be a certain starter but there are enough minutes across the season to give such a player the space to develop and improve.

His natural defensive qualities and experience in the Premiership allied to his knowledge of the league mean he could come straight into the squad.

It would also offer Ange more flexibility in the 6 and 8 positions especially if - as we saw in the Champions League qualifier - players are fatigued.

With the squad so thin and at a reasonable cost, McCann could be the ideal option and suits Ange’s high-intensity style.