What Aaron Mooy can really bring to Celtic: An Australian all-rounder with killer midfield firepower

The 31-year-old, available on a free transfer after departing Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port earlier this year, seems set to sign a one-year deal at Parkhead with the option of a further 12 months.

Many fans were expecting a higher-profile, more defensively-minded midfielder who could add steel to the Celtic engine room and ease the burden on Callum McGregor in the number 6 position. However, for now anyway, Mooy appears to be the midfield man Ange Postecoglou has turned to.

Well known to Postecoglou - who capped him 28 times for Australia - the former Huddersfield Town and Brighton man will know exactly what will be expected when he checks in to Lennoxtown.

But what will Mooy bring to Celtic and what part is he likely to play in Postecoglou’s midfield setup?

To answer that question, we will take a closer look at Mooy’s playing style, analyse his numbers from his recent spell in China and assess exactly what kind of role he could play at Parkhead.

Player profile

Mooy is a box-to-box midfielder who started his career in Europe at Bolton Wanderers before joining St Mirren in 2011 where he made his professional debut. He left Paisley after 30 appearances, returning to Australia where he impressed for Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City.

His form in the A-League led to a move back to the UK with Manchester City in 2016 and, although he failed to make the breakthrough at the Etihad, he went on to enjoy successful Premier League spells with Huddersfield and Brighton.

Mooy signed for Shanghai Port in 2020 for a fee of around £4million, making 31 appearances and scoring six goals for the Chinese Sper League outfit.

Last year, he was used most often in a right centre midfield role in Shanghai’s 3-5-1-1 or 5-3-2 formations. He has also played in a double pivot for Australia in their 4-2-3-1 as well as in a central midfield role in their 4-4-2 which was also used in their successful World Cup Qualification campaign.

On paper, it appears he could provide cover in both midfield positions for Celtic - deeper as the 6 or higher in one of two number 8 positions.

Looking at his heatmap for 2021 with Shanghai, Mooy’s actions are concentrated in that right central midfield zone, in a similar area to that of the right-sided number 8 in Celtic’s 4-3-3 as can be seen in Tom Rogic’s heatmap from last season below.

At 5ft 9in and under 11 stone, Mooy won’t offer too much more in terms of raw physicality and so won’t solve any issues Celtic experienced in that regard in Europe and some games against Rangers last season. However, he still has plenty to offer the midfield in other ways.

The above pizza chart gives a clearer picture of Mooy’s profile. The chart uses WyScout per-90-minute data converted into percentile ranks to compare him with other central midfielders (minimum 1,00 minutes played) in the 2021 Chinese Super League. It covers attacking, possession and defending metrics.

Looking at the attacking section first, Mooy looks like he will add even more firepower to Celtic’s already productive midfield. His five goals and one assist in 2021 give him a high rank for goal contributions. That output was sustainable, too, with a combined expected goal contribution of 5.7 (3.48 expected goals and 2.22 expected assists).

He ranks highly for the number of shots attempted per 90 minutes, averaging 2.51 per 90, as well as the shots on target percentage metric – Mooy hit the target with 44.83 per cent of his shots in the 2021 CSL.

In the possession section, his rank for his pass completion, which was 83.99 per cent, gives him quite a low rank. However, this may be down to attempting more difficult passes as he ranks highly for dangerous passes, a combination of through passes per 90 and key passes per 90, he produced 0.83 of the latter per 90 in 2021. His number of progressive passes, 6.89 per 90, was just below average for a CSL midfielder last year.

For carries, a combination of dribbles per 90 and progressive runs per 90, Mooy was just below the 75th percentile for passes, showing he can progress the ball that way too, as well as through his passing.

Defensively, Mooy’s numbers are average. He wasn’t involved in many defensive or aerial duels in the 2021 season in China but his win rate for aerial duels, was above average for a midfielder.

His reasonable number of possession-adjusted (PAdj) interceptions, 5.05 per 90, sees him rank quite well for positioning, which is a combination of PAdj interceptions per 90 and shots blocked per 90.

Passing

Mooy is a clean passer of the ball, with an excellent range off both feet. He is calm on the ball and possesses excellent vision. Well balanced, he can turn quickly and change the angle of attack if required during build-up phases.

He is used to being on the ball too – Shanghai Port tend to dominate possession with an average of 55.7 per cent for the 2021 CSL season. Playing in an even more possession-based side like Celtic (67.3 per cent league average possession last season) will likely suit him well and potentially see his passing input increase further, whether that is as a ball-playing number 6, or as one of the two ‘free’ number 8s.

As can be seen in the above example, Mooy is an incisive passer who can find the killer ball. Here, positioned in that right half-space, Mooy takes out three opposition players in close proximity with one precisely weighted ball in behind that puts his Shanghai team-mate in a great position to cross into the box from the right.

In this next example, Mooy shows his capability with his weaker left. Again, he demonstrates good vision to spot his team-mate running in behind. Latching onto a knockdown in midfield, he plays the ball first time in with his left, weighting it perfectly so it sits up nicely for his team-mate in the box who produces an excellent finish to score.

Shooting

As shown in his pizza chart, Mooy has provided a decent goal threat from midfield during his time in China. Although his shooting from range is not always the most accurate, his shots on target percentage in the 2021 CSL was not bad and in and around the box he is usually composed, producing some nice finishes.

The above shows a still Mooy finishing off a move for Shanghai earlier this year. He starts off the move himself on this occasion, turning his man deep in midfield following a turnover. Driving through the middle of the pitch, he plays a pass with the outside of his right foot to his teammate on the right before getting into the box.

Holding his run on the penalty spot, he sets himself well and shows excellent technique to finish first time into the far corner.   

In this next example, from 2020 with Brighton, Mooy demonstrates his composure in the box. Picking up a headed clearance from one of the Bournemouth defenders, he takes one touch to quickly control before calmly taking another to get away from the nearest defender who is closing in. This gives Mooy the space required to hit the shot early on his left, crashing the ball in off the post.

Defending

Although not the out-and-out ball-winning type fans were hoping for, Mooy still has something to offer off the ball. He is not quite the all-action player he was during his peak with Huddersfield in the Premier League, but he does still have decent mobility.

His 5.05 PAdj interceptions per 90 in the CSL in 2021 would have put him between Matt O’Riley (7.26 per 90 last season), the Celtic player in the number 8 position with the highest PAdj interceptions last season, and Rogic (1.46 per 90), who had the lowest. Although different teams in different leagues this is one indicator that Mooy will likely still be able to offer some work rate off the ball, at least domestically.

However, his number is not as high as Callum McGregor's (7.5 per 90) for last season from the deeper number 6 role. He was also less involved in defensive duels (3.74 per 90 compared to McGregor’s 4.47 per 90). McGregor had a higher win rate in defensive duels in 2021-22 (61.07 per cent) compared to Mooy in the 2021 CSL (51.11 per cent).

So whether Mooy’s defensive game is enough to make a tangible difference to Celtic’s midfield, especially in Europe, is questionable.

The above shows one example of Mooy winning the ball back for Shanghai last year. Here, although the opponent is a bit slow to react to the ball back to them, Mooy is sharp to nip around on his blind side and win the ball back quickly to get his team back on the attack.

Conclusion

Mooy has not played much football since February other than a few appearances for Australia this summer, so he may well take a few weeks to get up to speed at Celtic.

When he does, though, he will offer Postecoglou a good rotation option in midfield, one with plenty of technical qualities that can cover both the number 6 and 8 positions.

Turning 32 this September, Mooy definitely still has something to offer this current Celtic team, both on and off the ball, and following the departures of Nir Bitton and Rogic he will also add a bit of experience to what is a relatively young midfield.

Ultimately, he does not represent the game-changing presence in the middle of the park that will take Celtic to the next level, or even change the dynamic in the midfield all that much, but he is still a solid addition to the squad who is more than capable of making a decent contribution in the short term.