da brwin： Celtic confirmed the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as their replacement for Australian Ange Postecoglou earlier this month, and the new coach has already secured his first signing.
da wazamba： The club officially unveiled central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm on a five-year deal from Valerenga for an undisclosed fee with the 50-year-old manager saying:
“We are delighted to bring Odin to the club and to secure his signing so early in the window. He is a player who has been in the club’s scouting and recruitment system for some time. I have looked at him closely and believe he is someone who can make a big impact at the club."
The former Leicester City boss still has over two months left to make further additions to his side, and the Northern Irishman must now reignite the club's previous interest in Denis Huseinbasic.
Who is Denis Huseinbasic?
In April, the Hoops were touted with interest in the FC Koln prospect, who is a central midfielder by trade and he could be the future of Celtic's midfield alongside Holm.
The £4k-per-week prodigy only started seven matches in the Bundesliga during the 2022/23 campaign, but managed to showcase his potential at both ends of the pitch in limited minutes.
Huseinbasic ranks in the top 1% of players in his position in the men's top five leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for tackles (2.62) and blocks (1.82) per 90, which shows that the 21-year-old has excelled defensively when given an opportunity to play.
The talented youngster also scored five goals in all competitions, which also places him in the top 5% of players in his position for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.45) over the past year.
These statistics suggest that the Germany U21 international has the potential to be an impactful player at both ends of the pitch, and playing regular football in Scotland, as opposed to rarely starting in the Bundesliga, could allow him to flourish and showcase his talents week-in, week-out.
At the age of 21, Huseinbasic could be an excellent long-term addition, which is also the case with Holm, who caught the eye in his home country of Norway last year.
The 20-year-old averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.96 across 22 Eliteserien matches in 2022 and completed 88% of his passes to go alongside a duel success rate of 60%, which shows that the new Hoops signing has the potential to be a reliable passer and a midfielder who can dominate games from a physical perspective.
Therefore, Huseinbasic – who manager Steffen Baumgart hailed as "very ambitious" – and Holm could both be future stars of Celtic's midfield as they, hopefully, progress and develop with more experience.