Pundit Stevie Mullen has recently given his verdict about Celtic’s chase of Brighton and Hove Albion defender Shane Duffy.
Mullen was a guest on the latest episode of A Celtic State of Mind podcast. The panel discussed many issues surrounding the Parkhead side and one thing that they focused on was Duffy and his links with a move to Celtic. Mullen believes that Duffy fits the demands of what the Hoops currently want in a defender.
The Daily Mail recently reported that Duffy discussed the idea of a one-year loan deal with Neil Lennon. The report claims that any potential deal is still a ‘long way off’, as both Celtic and Brighton need to find an agreement over wages and the loan fee involved.
Will Duffy be the perfect defender for Celtic?
Absolutely!
I don't think so
When talking about the defender, Mullen said that Duffy ‘fits the bill perfectly’ for Lennon’s men right now. He believes that Duffy could play beside Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer in a three-man defence. Duffy is currently valued at £8.55 million.
He said: “I think if you ever talk about going to a [defensive] three, Shane would be ideal. He’s a perfect age, he is 28 years of age. Six-foot-four; good, robust tackler; [a] club-record fee of £4 million when he signed for Brighton from Blackburn. He made 63 appearances for Blackburn, 122 appearances for Brighton and 33 caps for the Republic of Ireland. I think he fits the bill perfectly for what Celtic need just now.”
When asked about how he would fit in at Parkhead, Mullen said: “I would play a three at the back. And he would just be the guy who goes and tries to win everything there. Jullien and Ajer can play either side of him and pick up.”
TIF Thoughts…
Celtic are yet to play a 3-5-2 shape in the Premiership this season as they have used a 4-2-3-1 formation in both of their league games so far. Last season though, Lennon used a 3-5-2 shape many times in the second half of the campaign. They didn’t lose a single league game during that period and as a result, it was arguably an important switch in helping them win the Premiership title.
Therefore, if Duffy can help Celtic play a 3-5-2 like Mullen says he can, it may have a positive impact on the first team’s fortunes. So it will be interesting to see whether Celtic make a concrete bid for the defender or not in the near future.