It would be safe to say that Celtic struggled in the recent summer transfer window, when it came to getting deals over the line, even though they were linked with a long list of players. One of the positions they were believed to be keen on strengthening is their defensive midfield, although they ultimately did not end up making an addition there.
Now, though, it looks like an opportunity has cropped up out of nowhere for them to sign a defensive midfielder. It is someone who had his contract terminated recently and so is available as a free agent.
As reported by Mark Hendry on his Substack, both Celtic and Rangers have been alerted to the availability of Pierre Ekwah. The Frenchman had his Saint-Étienne contract terminated by mutual consent back on September 1.
Before joining St Etienne, Ekwah had quite an extensive time in England over the course his youth and senior career. He was part of the Chelsea youth ranks at one point in time but never made a first-team appearance for them. It was the same case with West Ham United as well.
Celtic offered chance to sign ex-Chelsea player out of nowhere
Ekwah would break into senior-level football with Sunderland. But he never played in the Premier League for them, instead making 54 appearances in the English Championship.
He would play top level football while at St Etienne. But now, his time with the French club is up and it is pretty clear that he is searching for his next destination.
Will that turn out to be in Scotland? It appears that both Celtic and Rangers are clubs that he would be open to the idea of joining. Now, would either of them want to sign him at this point in time?
In some ways, it feels like a move would make sense for Celtic. It appears that the opportunity to sign a defensive midfielder has fallen in their lap. That being said, they need to be convinced that it is the right move they are making.
A deeper look into the stats does give a better look into the type of defensive midfielder that Ekwah is, and what he could bring to the table for Celtic. According to FBREF, when compared to positional peers in men's Big 5 leagues, UCL and UEL over the last 365 days, he is in the 96th percentile when it comes to interceptions and 91st percentile in terms of clearances. He is also in the 81st percentile in terms of passing completion percentage, 77th percentile for passes attempted and 68th percentile in terms of aerials won.
Interestingly, he is not a massive tackler and is 44th percentile in terms of tackles. Also, the Frenchman is only in the 23rd percentile when it comes to progressive carries.
From those numbers, it is easy to deduce that Ekwah would bring something to the defensive side of Celtic's game. But do not expect him to make much of a difference going forward.