Carl Starfelt’s exit is still to be finalised but Celtic appear to be moving rapidly with an eye on replacing him in their squad. If rumours are accurate, then it seems as though Brendan Rodgers has his eye on another Swedish centre-back to take his place. There have even been suggestions that a £3 million offer has already been tabled for him.
Having just signed Maik Nawrocki as a strong ball-playing centre-back from Legia Warsaw, what can the Hoops expect from rumoured target Gustaf Lagerbielke? Well, the early information certainly looks promising in terms of what the Swede could bring to Rodgers’ team.
Aged just 23, Lagerbielke is currently playing with Swedish top-flight league leaders, IF Elfsborg. He has played his part in them sitting top of the table and his great form led to him making his full Swedish international debut in January.
Lagerbielke will add height to the Celtic defence, as he is 6’ 4”, a useful attribute for set pieces at both ends of the pitch. He has scored plenty of headers over the past year, something that has been missing from the Hoops defenders in the opposition box of late.
Celtic target Lagerbielke outshines Starfelt in two areas
As reported by Daily Record, Lagerbielke won five per cent more of his duels over the past year than Starfelt (72 per cent). He also averaged winning ten defensive actions per 90, significantly higher than Celtic’s Swedish centre-back as well as Cameron Carter-Vickers.
In line with IF Elfsborg’s style of play, Lagerbielke also has a higher success rate for long ball passes than Celtic’s current defenders. With Kyogo and Daizen Maeda’s pace and movement up front, that could be a real plus point for Rodgers to have available.
It is great to see such swift movement by Celtic with what looks to be a high-quality replacement in Lagerbielke. Of course, it would be a mistake to compare stats side by side when he plays in a completely different league. But the potential is clear for all to see.
Add us as a preferred source on Google