With Rangers 1-0 up and dominating against their Old Firm rivals on April 3rd, Ange Postecoglou was crying out for one of his players to, as the old saying goes, ‘grab the game by the scruff of the neck’.
Fortunately, Celtic have a metronomic midfield mastermind who has made a career out of doing just that.
“They needed someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck because it was all Rangers,” former Scotland international Kenny Miller told the BBC after Callum McGregor barged his way into the hosts’ box and set up Tom Rogic’s equaliser, laying the foundations for a comeback win that set Celtic on their way to a tenth league title in the last ten years.
“He’s picked the ball up and he’s just drove at the heart of them. And even at the end – even though he’s stretching – he still managed to get that right toe on the ball to get it back to his team-mate (Rogic).”
Rangers simply had no response to a colossal captain’s performance from Celtic’s Glasgow-born conductor. If ‘42’ is, as Douglas Adams’ quipped, the ‘meaning of life, the universe, everything’ then it’s a fitting shirt number for a man who, amidst the sparkle of Kyogo Furuhashi and Filipe Jota, remains the driving force behind a chest-thumping title charge.
Rangers want Paul Akouokou
It would perhaps be unfair to expect Paul Akouokou to emulate McGregor’s impact on the other side of the city. Spanish publication AS claim that Rangers are keen on the Real Betis enforcer.
But if Giovanni van Bronckhorst had a 6ft 3ins Ivorian standing tall at the base of his midfield during a 2-1 home defeat that put the title within Celtic’s grasp, McGregor might not have made that game-changing assist look quite so straightforward.
24-year-old Akouokou, like McGregor, is a midfielder who can do it all. He can break up attacks at one end, using his formidable frame and telescopic legs to snatch back possession, before striding down the other. Leaving opponents in his wake with a burst of perfectly-timed power and pace.
Only one midfielder in Rangers’ squad – the seldom-seen James Sands – can match Akouokou’s average of 1.8 successful tackles per game (WhoScored). He averages far more interceptions per 90 minutes (1.4) than Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and even John Lundstram.
His pass completion rate – 88 per cent – shows he is as effective in possession as he is without it.
‘Role model is Yaya Toure’
Rangers are not short of quality in the centre of the park. But while Van Bronckhorst has his fair share of specialists, he does not have a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-all like McGregor. Akouokou provides the strength of Lundstram, the aggression of Jack, the passing range of Davis and the drive of Joe Aribo.
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“He plays very well as a ‘sentinel’ in front of the defence,” a source who knows Akouokou well tells Estadio Deportivo.
“But he is also capable of playing in a playmaker role. In Israel (at Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Rishon LeZion) he played as a number eight. He had more freedom and even scored goals.
“Today, he fulfils the role of a hard-working midfielder, but his role model is the Ivorian soccer star Yaya Toure. Frankly, he is a player with enormous potential.”
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