Celtic saw one of their biggest heroes wave goodbye to the club last year as Scott Brown brought an end to his 14 years at Parkhead.
In 611 appearances for the Hoops, the midfielder scored 46 goals, delivered 63 assists and won numerous trophies along the way.
His defensive work was also crucial for the team – for example, throughout his final Premiership campaign at Celtic before joining Aberdeen, Brown made 46 interceptions and won 30 tackles.
Now that the Hoops’ first season without their midfield hero has ended, the current summer transfer window could give Ange Postecoglou the chance to bring in what could be an ideal next version of the Parkhead legend.
One player with whom the club have been linked recently and who could fit this particular bill is Vinicius Souza.
The 23-year-old, who is currently on the books at Belgian club Lommel, spent last season on loan at fellow Belgian side Mechelen. During his loan campaign, he showed why he could be an ideal candidate to be a long-term replacement for Brown at Celtic.
In 27 league games, the Brazilian won more tackles (66) and made more interceptions (64) than any other player at Mechelen. To put that into perspective, this is comfortably more interceptions and more tackles than any player at Celtic made in last season’s Premiership campaign.
This also backs up why the midfielder was labelled as being “head and shoulders above the rest” of the players in the Belgian league, according to Steven Defour.
Would Vinicius Souza be a good signing for Celtic?
With a reported price tag of between €8m (£6.8m) and €9m (£7.7m), striking a deal for the Brazilian should be at the top of Celtic’s to-do list before the transfer window closes.
Having also seen Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic leave Parkhead recently, this only reinforces the need for the Scottish champions to bring a dominant new midfield figure to the club in the coming weeks.
While Souza would have a lot to do if he is to replicate the impact that Brown had during his time with the Bhoys, the Lommel midfielder certainly appears to have what it takes to replace the 36-year-old’s defensive qualities on the pitch.
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