Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy will have plenty of big decisions to make on Thursday night when Italian giants Roma come to Parkhead in the Europa League.
It will be the Frenchman’s second match in charge of the Hoops and his first ever game in a European competition, having only managed in the MLS previously.
The former Columbus Crew head coach implemented his 3-4-2-1 system in a 2-1 defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, and will have learned a lot about which of his players do and do not suit certain roles.
Ranking the worst Celtic performers against Hearts
Football FanCast have already suggested that the new manager should drop Arne Engels from the team, because he gave the ball away a staggering 23 times, per Sofascore.
The Belgian midfielder was hugely ineffective in the middle of the park, but he was not the only one, as Benjamin Nygren did not create a single chance for the team in 65 minutes on the pitch.
1
Arne Engels
2
Sebastian Tounekti
3
Daizen Maeda
4
Liam Scales
5
Benjamin Nygren
As you can see in the table above, we have ranked Daizen Maeda in third, despite missing two ‘big chances’ (Sofascore), because he did assist Kieran Tierney’s goal by winning a header.
Liam Scales was also among the worst performers on the day, losing 100% (1/1) of his ground duels, and losing possession 15 times as a centre-back, per Sofascore.
Sebastian Tounekti, meanwhile, was the second-worst performer after Engels. The Tunisia international was given a 3/10 player rating by 67HailHail, and he should be dropped against Roma, as Hyun-jun Yang has proven himself to be a better option.
Why Sebastian Tounekti should be dropped
The summer signing from Hammarby should be ruthlessly dropped by Nabcy because his performances have not been good enough of late for the Scottish giants.
First Impressions
What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.
In the summer, journalist Anders Lindberg claimed that Tounekti has “the X Factor”. That was clear to see in his early outings for the club, as he completed five dribbles and created four chances, per Sofascore, on his debut against Kilmarnock.
Tounekti followed up on that promising debut with a goal against Partick Thistle in the League Cup in his second match for the Hoops, which only heightened the excitement around him at Parkhead.
Unfortunately, the 23-year-old forward has done very little since his first couple of appearances for Celtic. He is currently on a run of eight matches without a goal contribution, and has not assisted a goal in 18 matches for the club so far, per Sofascore.
Tounekti was subbed off after 59 minutes against Hearts so that Yang could switch over to the left side to play as the left wing-back, instead of on the right, and their recent performances suggest that he would be a better option there.
Goals
0
1
Key passes
2
1
Assists
0
0
Dribbles completed
3/13
6/10
Duels won
12/35
22/39
As you can see in the table above, the South Korean international has been significantly more effective in his physical duels and in his dribbles, which suggests that he is better suited to playing as a wing-back.
In this new role created by Nancy’s system, there is more of an onus on the player in that position to carry the ball up the pitch and to compete in more physical duels, which Yang is more equipped to do.
Tounekti, unfortunately, has failed to prove that he can be relied upon to be efficient in his duels or as an offensive threat, with his lack of goals and assists, as well as his struggles in physical contests with opposition defenders.
This is why he should be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up by Nancy for this clash with Roma on Thursday in the Europa League, with Yang moved over to the left.
Worse than Maeda: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who lost the ball 23 times
Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy must drop this flop who was even worse than Daizen Maeda against Hearts.
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That would then open up a space on the right flank for another player to be brought in and given a chance to impress the new boss, who is still learning about his players.