New Celtic signing Oliver Sorensen has been backed to replace Arne Engels amid a glaring gap in Martin O'Neill's midfield.
The Bhoys failed to replace Engels, who joined West Ham for £22million, becoming the most expensive EFL signing of all time. Engels was vital for the Hoops, able to pick up the ball from deep and drive forward, and while he was no enforcer, he also broke up play nicely.
After Engels left and Celtic failed to sign Gvidas Gineitis, a gap was left in O'Neill's midfield, and while the Bhoys have got away with it against inferior teams in the league, they have been found out in games against LASK in the Champions League and Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup.
O'Neill has the option of playing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain there, with the exception of Thursday night due to suspension, but where solidity is gained, legs are lost.
But when Mika Baur plays there, Celtic can play more expansively with the ball, but they do not have the physicality to compete with better midfields.
With Celtic unable to address the issue until January, when they almost certainly will, O'Neill is going to have to get creative, and legendary midfielder Scott Brown believes summer loan signing Sorensen could be the answer.
He said to The Herald: “I thought Engels was that. Engels was really good at that. Engels was a box-to-box midfielder, he helped Cal in there and dropped in.
“Nygren drops in at times, Baur will drop in at times as well, but they’ve not got that physicality of what Engels or Victor Wanyama’s got.
“But Sorensen’s got the physicality. I’ve not seen enough of his legs back to front, if I’m honest, and he’s just in the door. Hopefully he can manage to be the difference between that physicality.
“But also I can see Sorensen’s got a fantastic range of passing and looks forward, plays lovely passes, so hopefully he can add that part to his game.”
Celtic will likely get away with not having that sort of player in the league for much of the season, perhaps with the exception of the Rangers games, but if they do not find an answer for the European games, they are likely to fall short of progression to the knockout games, and certainly to the latter stages, which should be the aim, even if it is a big challenge at this stage.
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