Celtic transfer scouting: Gifted Slovakian leader worth 'cheeky bid' to stay ahead of demand curve

Their new signing, Moritz Jenz, has got off to a great start by grabbing a goal in both of the latter two. However the Hoops are still short of natural left-footed centre-backs and, while that isn’t a huge issue, having one would be a huge bonus.

A trip to Slovakia could help Celtic uncover such a gem: Tomáš Nemčík, a left-footed centre-back playing for Žilina in the Slovakian Superliga.

Here, we look at his strengths and weakness while exploring why he could be a potential future buy for Celtic.

Key info and heatmap

Nationality: Slovakian; Club: Žilina; Age: 21; Position: Centre-back; Preferred foot: Left; Height: 6ft 3in

Nemčík is the kind of centre-back who likes to step out of the defensive third and move the ball forward from the midfield half-spaces. He thrives on playing with the ball when his team is in possession and has the skillset to suit a possession-oriented team who likes to build out from the back and have their centre-backs step and force the build-up.

The 21-year-old is the captain of his club and a natural leader. He has also won 12 caps for Slovakia Under-21s and is progressing well in his mission to get into the senior team. His performances with the under-21s have also been quite impressive.

Passing and carrying

Nemčík is a real asset on the ball, especially when offered room to step into the midfield third.

As you can see from the numbers above, he has a high ball progression rate with respect to passing and is excellent at moving the ball into the final third.

It is not just the ball progression that stands out but also the range of passing he offers to his team. While the Slovakian centre-back is comfortable playing short passes, he has the ability to pick players perfectly with his long balls.

The situation in the images above is one instance of his long-passing ability.

The 21-year-old defender steps out from the defensive third and looks up for options. Seeing that the midfield is compact and narrow, he notices a last-man run being made by a team-mate and fizzes a long ball in with pace and precision.

Although the move doesn’t end up in a goal, the pass to generate a direct goal-scoring opportunity is laudable.

In addition to the verticality in his passing, he is good at switching play when the central areas are crowded.

One thing that he lacks might be elite ball carrying, although he moves up the pitch into midfield at times.

In terms of technical ability, he is surprisingly two-footed and can play smooth passes with his weaker right foot as well as his left.

When pressed, he has a no-nonsense approach and isn’t always looking to take risks on the ball under pressure.

Defensive instincts

Nemčík is a centre-back so it is vital that he gets the basics in this department spot on.

While he is a good defender with specific strengths, some flaws in his game could get further exposed and exploited if he moves to bigger leagues.

It is evident from the numbers that the Slovakian is a high-volume dueller and is involved in a relatively high amount of ground duels per 90 minutes. His ground duel success rate is just about average, winning 68 per cent of the challenges.

One of his defensive strengths is that he reads the game reasonably well and takes appropriate actions to cut them off.

In the game above, the opposition tries to carry and attack into the box to get a shot away.

Still, Nemčík reads the situation and closes the gap between him and the receiver quickly, followed by interception of the pass and clearing the danger for the time being. There are a lot of instances where he jumps in quickly, cutting off passes and winning back possession for his team.

The above images illustrate another strength of his which is calmness and anticipation.

Nemčík does not dive in with a sliding tackle and tries to close down the player, breaking the momentum of the opponent’s run.

While the opposition player tries to sneakily cut the ball past him, the centre-back stretches his long legs backwards to nick the ball away and create a turnover.

The above images are another example of his calmness and use of his legs to win a tackle. Nemčík is the last defender in this case and initially breaks the opponent’s run inside.

Despite the initial knock on the ball, the attacker moves wide and tries to accelerate. However, the young centre-backs extends his long legs and turns perfectly, winning the duel and recycling possession for his team.

Downsides

There are some other surprising points to note in his defensive game.

While he is well-built physically, he does not impose much on players and does not get too tight to players high up the pitch.

One of his biggest weaknesses is his confusing body shape when facing challenges. He always goes with the left side of his body leaning towards the player, which has sometimes helped the opposition attackers to dummy his challenge and get away.

In the first image of the above sequence, you can see how his body shape is, and this is something that could be badly exploited by top players.

Also, while the Slovakian defender is pretty quick at covering the ground and making recovery runs, he gets turned around a little too quickly at times because of his body shape. As with tackling, he does concede silly fouls.

Nemčík is 6ft 3in tall and is decent aerially. However, he sometimes lacks control over his leaps which is another downside to his game.

Conclusions

To conclude, Nemčík is an excellent asset to have especially in relation to Celtic's passing game but is still a bit raw with his defensive side.

A move to Parkhead could be a big step for him but it is one he could handle, considering his progress so far.

A cheeky bid from Celtic could force Žilina’s hands and he would also come on a cheap fee, minimizing the risk for the club.