As Scott Brown plodded around the pitch, chasing shadows and clipping ankles, it was difficult not to be reminded of Roger Moore in his final James Bond role, 1985’s A View To A Kill. Old, slow, his knees creaking with every step, it made for awkward, almost melancholy viewing.
But while the Celtic legend proved well past his sell-by-date during a 2020/21 campaign that saw the club lose its decade-long stranglehold on the Scottish Premiership, finding someone capable of emulating Brown’s impact – on and off the pitch – has proved easier said than done.
Callum McGregor, Celtic’s man for all seasons and all positions, hasn’t looked out of place when deployed as a string-pulling number six by Ange Postecoglou this season, the role Brown made his own during a decade of dominance in green-and-white hoops.
But beyond McGregor, who’s arguably at his most effective in a more advanced role anyway, there remains a paucity of reliable options.
That deep-lying, defensive midfield role is highly important to Postecoglou’s game plan given the way Celtic tend to flood forward with reckless abandon, leaving themselves vulnerable to quick counters a la last month’s 4-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League.
Nir Bitton isn’t up to the task and the jury remains out on Ismaila Soro, a hard-running scrapper in the N’Golo Kante mould but who lacks the finesse and composure of Chelsea’s World Cup winner.
Celtic eye Henrique for vital number six role
Reports linking the Glasgow giants with a January swoop for 20-year-old Gremio enforcer Fernando Henrique, then, suggest attempts are being made to reinforce one of the weaker parts of an unbalanced Celtic squad (Globo Esporte).
The Brazil U20 international models himself on Real Madrid’s Casemiro – a ball-winner and ball-player rolled into a 6ft package.
“Since I started playing, (the inspiration has been) Casemiro. I’ve always been inspired by his football – good marking, good passing, long balls,” says Henrique, who prides himself on his ability to pierce the lines and set the tempo with punchy, first-time passes.
It may be unfair to suggest Henrique, who has just 16 first-team appearances under his belt, could fill the boots of one of Celtic’s most decorated and influential players.
But Henrique certainly has the potential and skill-set – if not the experience – to do under Postecoglou what Scott Brown did for so many wonderful, trophy-filled years.
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