Austrian Bundesliga Celtic transfer options scouted: The inverted full-back perfect for Angeball and former PSG midfield destroyer

Graduates likes Haaland, Minamino, Adeyemi and Szoboszlai have already smashed their way into the general parlance when it comes to top-level European football.

The Austrian Bundesliga could prove to be another exciting market for Celtic to look into for the long term with the variety of options available.

We will take a look at three potential options that the Hoops could shortlist.

Alexander Prass - Sturm Graz

Nationality: Austria Age: 20

Position: Centre Midfield

Preferred foot: Left

Transfermarkt value: £0.6m

Alexander Prass is a young and able central midfielder for Sturm Graz.

Graz have lined up in different formations this season with Prass occupying different roles. However, the 20-year old is best suited to playing in the left centre midfield role.

His numbers very much reflect on his abilities on the ball.

Prass is a good asset for ball progression and his primary route is via his passing. The young Austrian isn’t afraid to carry the ball with the ability to drive forward into open spaces. He does tend to make optimal choices on when to carry or pass, which is a big positive.

He has around a 69% pass success rate which he should try to improve, however, Prass is a very front foot player on the ball and his verticality is evident with the forward passing numbers.

Another key positive in the Austrian’s game is his quick scanning and deciding the type of pass. He tends to find runners with his passing and is a technically gifted player although quite one-footed. He loves drifting down the left flanks as his heatmaps indicate clearly.

He is a very able midfielder in terms of defensive duties. His duel success rate is a standout statistic and he loves going down in duels. He tries to use his feet to nudge the ball away. Adding to this, he doesn’t give away as many fouls. Prass uses his body well to shield the ball and shows good strength when battling an opposition player. His positional awareness isn’t much of an issue either as he does do the dirty work of providing cover and tracking back often.

Finally, as an improvement, Prass could add more aggressiveness to take his game to another level - something a spell in Scottish football would be ideal to provide.

Overall, he is a balanced midfielder and could prove to be a bargain, adding depth and quality to an area still slightly light on bodies.

Amadou Danté - Sturm Graz

Nationality: Mali

Age: 21

Position: Left Back

Preferred foot: Left

Transfermarkt value: £2.25m

One of the key areas that Celtic needs to strengthen is the left-back position. Amadou Danté, a teammate of Alexander Prass would prove to be an ideal squad option at left-back for Celtic. The 21-year old youngster is a regular on his club’s starting eleven. 

Danté has the potential to scale his offensive ability even further, however, there is a doubt whether he could ever be an elite attacking threat.

Despite that, he poses brilliant numbers. The 21-year old Malian attempts just about an average amount of crosses compared to his competition but fails to regularly deliver quality. He often tends to cross in a chipped fashion, although he is capable of using the inside of his foot to swing in balls too.

While he can show quality in his crosses, more consistency would be important for him to move up in the football pyramid.

Danté’s output might be low but he is progressive and moves the ball into the final third at every opportunity. He doesn’t take on players and loves to move inside to receive and cross, ideal for Postecoglou's inverted full-back system.

The 21-year-old’s heatmap sums up his positioning where he tucks in very often out of possession to make the defence more compact. So, most often, he can be found trying to engage players in duels during turnovers rather than trying to chase the ball. Another key attribute is his close control and quick feet which give him a natural comfort in more congested areas centrally.

Danté is quite solid defensively despite a lack of strength, especially in duels. He is mostly in the right place at the right time to cut off weak passes and intercept. Standing 179cms tall, he isn’t very strong aerially so would likely be targeted at the back post.

He Danté is good at pinning wingers down and not allowing them an easy exit. His one-v-one ability in defensive situations is a strong side of his game. The picture below is an example where the winger tries to cut inside, which is read well by the Malian. He makes a challenge with his weaker foot and wins the ball cleanly.

Danté looks like a player who could possibly develop into a starter for a bottom half side in the top five European leagues.

He is certainly a player whose development could be tracked by the Celtic should they wish to offer Greg Taylor a more stern challenge for his spot.

Antoine Bernede - Red Bull Salzburg

Nationality: France/Cameroon

Age: 22 Position: Centre Midfield

Preferred foot: Right

Transfermarkt value: £2.7m

RB Salzburg are well known for selling quality players to the top five European leagues and Antoine Bernede could be a future name on that list. He also comes with the reputation of coming from PSG’s youth system. Bernede is ambidextrous on the ball and can operate with both feet. He has played on the right of a diamond in a 4-4-2 and also on the right in a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-1-2.

His heat map above shows his eagerness to keep things rotating in the midfield third. We will now take a look at some of his passing numbers.

It is quite evident from the visualisation how Bernede loves to be progressive and play it forward most of the time. He loves playing the ball short most often and his average pass length is just over 16 metres. This is not a negative but a key ability of his game that is to recycle and make sure his team keeps the ball.

He keeps things safe in possession which is marked by his pass percentage of 84%. His passing range was one a criticism in his development years but has worked on that and now occasionally picks out riskier but rewarding options when there is an opportunity.

Bernede’s game reading is also laudable as he tends to cut off passing lanes at times and often intercepts and wins back possession for his team. It is safe to say that the defensive side of his game looks more polished than the attacking side. He is aggressive when it comes to duels and also gives away more fouls than average.

Bernede essentially shows up as a passing option for the centre-backs in build-up and then works the next phase by moving the ball to a creator or moving it forward.

The Salzburg midfielder would be a terrific signing for Celtic with the only concern being an unfortunate injury record.