It is fair to say that the end of the summer transfer window did not go exactly to plan for Celtic in their attempts to bolster the attacking options in the squad.
Brendan Rodgers wanted to add more firepower to his frontline by bringing in a new number nine, whilst he also allowed Adam Idah to leave to sign for Swansea.
The Ireland international scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Hoops last season, per Transfermarkt, and his exit left Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamada as the only natural strikers at the club.
Unfortunately, Celtic were unable to bring a new centre-forward to Parkhead on deadline day. Instead, they signed Kelechi Iheanacho on a free transfer the day after deadline day, and he has scored three goals for the club to date.
The Nigeria international has scored one goal from open play, along with two penalties, and missed four ‘big chances’ in six appearances so far, per Sofascore.
Celtic did make a signing on deadline day, though, as they brought Sebastian Tounekti in from Hammarby for a fee of around £5m, and he has hit the ground running in Glasgow.
Celtic have hit the jackpot with Sebastian Tounekti
Typically, crowds love to watch exciting wingers who take their man on and make things happen with the ball at their feet, because it creates excitement and gets fans off their seats.
Tounekti is that sort of winger. The Tunisia international could be described as fearless in the way that he is willing to try and try and try again to dribble past opposition defenders.
He completed five of his eight attempted dribbles and created four chances for his teammates against Kilmarnock, per Sofascore, on his debut for the club in the Scottish Premiership last month.
The 23-year-old star, who scored his first goal for the club in the League Cup against Partick Thistle, has completed 14 dribbles in five appearances for the club in the Premiership and the Europa League to date.
He has been an electric figure on the left flank for the Scottish giants with his ability to whiz past opposition full-backs with ease to get into promising positions in the final third.
Sebastian Tounekti
5
14
James Forrest
9
11
Benjamin Nygren
9
7
Daizen Maeda
9
5
Colby Donovan
4
4
As you can see in the table above, Tounekti has the most completed dribbles of any player in the Celtic squad, despite playing four fewer matches than the three players who are closest to his tally.
One thing that you may notice about that table is that summer signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who is a winger, does not make it into the top five at the club for completed dribbles.
That is because he has not completed a single dribble in five appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been a bit too timid with the ball at his feet so far for the Bhoys.
Whilst that suggests that he is unlikely to follow in Tounekti’s footsteps as an exciting and dynamic wing wizard, Rodgers does have another Celtic player who can get supporters off their feet with exciting wing play.
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Jota suffered an ACL injury in May against Dundee United that ruled him out of action for up to nine months, which means that the Hoops may not have him back until the second half of this season.
Once the former Rennes and Al Ittihad star does return to the field at Parkhead to play for Rodgers, though, the manager could have another Tounekti at his disposal.
Why Jota is the original Tounekti
The Portuguese starlet signed for, left, and rejoined Celtic before Tounekti arrived in Glasgow on deadline day at the start of September, but is currently on the sidelines because of his injury.
Jota produced 25 goals and 23 assists in the Premiership and European competitions across his two seasons at the club under Ange Postecoglou’s management, which attracted interest from Al Ittihad.
The electric forward joined the Saudi Pro League side for a fee of £25m in a move that was a blow for the Scottish giants, because he was their most exciting attacking outlet.
1
Jota – 1.7
Jota – 1.5
2
Tom Rogic – 1.6
Alexandro Bernabei – 1.5
3
Mikey Johnston – 1.3
Anthony Ralston – 1.0
4
Anthony Ralston – 0.9
Reo Hatate – 0.8
5
James Forrest – 0.9
Greg Taylor – 0.8
As you can see in the table above, Jota was the most prolific dribbler in the squad in both of his first two seasons at Parkhead with Postecoglou in the dugout, which shows that he was the original Tounekti.
Of course, the Portugal international returned to Celtic in the January transfer window this year, joining from Rennes, and he hit the ground running at the start of his second spell in Glasgow.
The 26-year-old star scored four goals and provided two assists in 11 Premiership appearances in the second half of last season, whilst completing 1.6 dribbles per 90, per Sofascore.
Jota, who pundit Michael Stewart described as a “game-changer” who “raises the bar”, gets fans off their seats in anticipation because he takes defenders on and makes things happen in the final third.
Along with his dribbling skills, the Portuguese talent also has the output, with his return of goals and assists, to give supporters the belief that he will score or create a goal when he gets the ball in dangerous positions.
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Therefore, Rodgers will be patiently waiting for Jota to be available for selection once again, because the manager will then have two electric and exciting wingers to select on the flank in Tounekti and the former Benfica star.