Over the past couple of days, we have seen the speculation ramp up regarding a move for Wilfried Nancy. It is understandable as well. There is no doubt that Celtic need to bring in a permanent manager, with Martin O'Neill not being the long-term solution at 73 years of age. Of course, there will be a ton of debate whether the Columbus Crew boss is the right man for the job or not.
At the same time, one cannot forget the importance of the upcoming January transfer window as well. The club need to use it to rebuild the squad.
No matter who you bring in as the new manager, he will only be as good as the team. And at this point in time, there are a lot of holes in the Celtic squad.
Of course, the fans will want to see some proven and experienced players being brought in. But Celtic have once again been linked with some project signings. One of them did catch the eye of the supporters though, as he captained Morocco to U20 World Cup glory. Some doubts have been raised about how seriously the Hoops will pursue such a move in January though.
Celtic fans handed bad news regarding January transfer move
As reported by Football Insider, Pete O'Rourke said about the situation involving Celtic and Houssam Essadak:
"I’m sure Celtic and a number of other top clubs are keeping tabs on Essadak and other players from that Morocco Under-20s team.
“But, I don’t think Celtic will be making it a priority to try and do a deal in January. There’s other areas of the team that need strengthening before midfield."
Essadak was the captain of Morocco as they won the U20 World Cup recently. They came up against Argentina in the final. And it is not hard to see why the midfielder might have caught the eye of many watching the tournament.
That being said, is he going to be a solution for Celtic immediately after coming in? Most probably not. He is still just 20 years of age and has never played football in Europe. He is currently at Morrocan side UTS.
He has the ability to play all across midfield and could develop into a solid player for Celtic over time. That being said, the club need some players who are ready to immediately come into the starting XI and make a difference. That is not a category that he falls under.
Also, the midfield is one of the areas where Celtic do have some quality options, although we have seen them struggle to control the middle of the park in big games. There are other positions where the Hoops lack any real depth. Those might be worth strengthening first.
That being said, there is believed to be interest from Sunderland in signing Essadak as well. So, if Celtic do not move, they could miss out on their chance to sign the Moroccan midfielder, if they have one in the first place.