Celtic secured their first deal of the summer transfer window earlier this month when they sealed a permanent move for Cameron Carter-Vickers from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
After completing a rather successful season-long loan spell with the Hoops last term, which ended with Ange Postecoglou’s side winning the Premiership title and boasting the best defensive record in the division, it’s easy to see why the club were keen to keep hold of the American.
To highlight how important he was for the Bhoys at the back, in Carter-Vickers’ 33 league games, he racked up more interceptions (43) than any other Celtic player, along with the highest average of clearances per game (4.2).
Now that this deal has been confirmed, the Scottish champions have the rest of the transfer window to make any changes to the squad that they see fit.
In terms of another defender potentially coming through the door at Parkhead, one man with whom the Hoops have been linked and who could give Postecoglou the chance to form an unstoppable duo alongside Carter-Vickers is Ahmed Touba.
After working his way through Club Brugge’s youth ranks, the centre-back left the club on a permanent basis in August 2020 for a move to RKC Waalwijk. Since then, the Algerian has gone on to make 62 appearances for the Dutch side across all competitions, scoring three goals and delivering two assists in the process.
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To highlight his defensive capabilities, the 24-year-old won more tackles (32) than any other player at Waalwijk this season and made the joint-highest number of interceptions (57).
Described by journalist Chebli Ishaq as a player with “has all the assets to succeed”, Touba certainly seems to have what it takes to be a solid addition to Celtic’s ranks in terms of his defensive attributes.
Having a player like Carter-Vickers next to him who has shown just how impressive he can be at Parkhead, this could make a potential pairing of him and Touba an unstoppable one for the Hoops.
With all this in mind, securing a deal for the Algerian this summer should definitely be in Postecoglou’s plans for the remainder of the current transfer window.
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