Celtic’s Scottish Premiership captain Scott Brown has been tipped to join Western Melbourne ahead of their first A-League campaign.
Western Melbourne’s hopes of luring Scott Brown away from Celtic were handed a massive boost on Thursday.
The newly-founded Australian outfit have been given permission to join an expanded A-League ahead of the 2019/20 season. As a result, they are set to step up their pursuit of Celtic skipper Brown with The Mail reporting in October that he was a marquee target ahead of their first ever top flight campaign.
But that does not mean Brown’s arrival would be welcomed by everyone.
Speaking to FTBL, former Aussie international and Western Sydney Wanderers defender Robbie Cornthwaite has suggested that the A-League’s newest members should think bigger than Brown with the likes of Alessandro Del Piero having been tempted Down Under in recent years.
“We need a player that can fill not just their stadium but other stadia across the country. Like a Del Piero,” said Cornthwaite, who is now a pundit in Australia.
“We need to go straight to the very top to get the biggest name, absolutely the biggest name you can. Go straight for someone like Zlatan [Ibrahimovic].
“The marquee that I’ve heard mentioned is Scott Brown, but he’s underwhelming and I don’t think, with respect, that type of defensive-minded player works.
“We need someone with flair and presence that’s going to fill not just their stadium but every stadium in Australia; someone who fans will love; the media will love who’ll excite the sporting public.”
Brown is certainly an effective midfielder, an excellent ball winner and an underrated passer of the ball who has been one of the first names on Celtic’s team sheet for over a decade.
But you can see where Cornthwaite is coming from. Brown is unlikely to stir up a media circus or get fans flocking to watch Western Melbourne in action during their maiden A-League campaign.
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