After the signing of left-back Alexandro Bernabei from Argentinian side Lanus, Celtic were linked with another foray into the South American market.

Argentinos Juniors midfielder Fausto Vera was said to be on a list of alternatives after primary midfield target - Brazilian Vinicius Souza, of Belgian side Lommel SK - ended up signing a loan deal with Espanyol.

After the recruitment of Aaron Mooy it was up for debate as to whether Vera was still in Ange Postecoglou's eyeline is unclear but, with Corinthians reported to closing in on a deal for him, Celtic would be smart to consider another Argentine who fits the profile required.

A former team-mate of Bernabei, Lanus’ Tomás Belmonte could also fill the more defensively-minded number 6 role that Postecoglou was - and purportedly still is - looking to bring in.

Valued like Vera - at around £4million to £5million - Belmonte has been impressive for Lanus and was also part of the young Argentine squad that went to Japan for last year’s Olympics.

Although he has an additional year on his contract compared to Vera, Belmonte would hopefully only cost somewhere around what Celtic paid for Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers earlier in the window and so would still be a realistic target.

The fact the club only just recently found an agreement with Lanus for Bernabei may also work in their favour.

Here, we take a closer look at Belmonte’s playing style, analyse his numbers at Lanus and assess how he could fit the profile that could help Postecoglou reach the next level in Europe.

Player profile

Tomas Belmonte is a 24-year-old central midfielder who, like Bernabei, has come through the youth ranks at Lanus. Despite being born in Argentina, Belmonte also carries an Italian passport.

He has played over 130 games for his local side since making his debut in the 2017-18 season and usually plays in either the deeper holding role or as a box-to-box central midfielder in Lanus’ 4-3-3. He has also played as one of the two central midfielders in their 4-4-2 system.

Celtic Way:

Looking at his heatmap for the last year, most of Belmonte’s actions are concentrated in the deep midfield area with touches on either side of the halfway line, slightly more to the right, from when he has been played one forward.

At 5ft 10in and just under 11 stone, Belmonte is a similar physical profile to Vera. Neither are as physically imposing as Souza (6ft 1in and around 12-and-a-half stone) but, in Belmonte’s case, he more than makes up for this with an aggressive and committed playing style.

Celtic Way:

The above pizza chart gives a clearer picture of Belmonte’s profile.

The chart uses Wyscout per 90-minute data converted into percentile ranks to compare him with other central midfielders (minimum 1,00 minutes played) in the Argentine Primera Division in the last year. It covers attacking, possession and defending metrics.

Looking at his attacking section first, Belmonte has an above-average rank for his goal contributions - a combination of goals per 90 and assists per 90 - as well as his expected goal contributions (a combination of expected goals per 90 and expected assists).

He has scored one goal from an xG of 1.06 and provided three assists from an xA of 1.09, which is a decent return for a player who has been used in the deeper midfield role for over a third of his minutes in the last year.  

He ranks around the league average for a central midfielder in the Argentine Primera Division for his number of shots (0.57 per 90). When he does shoot, Belmonte gets a decent amount on goal with a 42.86 per cent shots-on-target percentage.

When in possession, Belmonte does not travel with the ball too often with a below-average number of carries - a combination of dribbles per 90 and progressive runs per 90 - compared to others in his position in the league.

His overall volume of passes per 90 is comfortably above average with his progressive passes and dangerous passes (a combination of key passes per 90 and through passes per 90) below average. Most importantly, he is comfortably in the top quarter for his pass completion percentage which is 86.97 per cent.

It is the defending section where Belmonte excels. His 13.33 successful defensive actions per 90 give him a high percentile rank for that metric while his defensive duels per 90 and his win rate are around average. He looks strong in the air too. He is involved in a high number of aerial duels while he has a win rate above the 75th percentile.

For positioning - a combination of possession-adjusted (PAdj) interceptions per 90 and shots blocked per 90 - Belmonte boasts the top rank thanks to a league-high 10.36 PAdj interceptions per 90 and the second most shots blocked (0.66 per 90).

Defending

As just highlighted, Belmonte is one of the most active midfielders in the Argentine Primera Division when it comes to defending actions.

Positionally, he is very good. He is always alert and reads the opponent’s intentions well. When he does make those defensive actions, he is quick and aggressive. 

Celtic Way:

The above still shows an example of Belmonte’s excellent reading of the game. Here, he reads the intention of the opponent's pass into a central attacking midfield area.

Before the passer has even taken a touch and lifted his head to see the pass, Belmonte has already scanned the danger over his right shoulder and is moving across the line of the pass before it is played. This allows Belmonte to step in and intercept.

Celtic Way:

In this next example, Belmonte again demonstrates a good ability to spot danger in a game against Defensa y Justicia. Here, the opposition is looking to counter following the breakdown of a Lanus attack. The opposition plays the ball into a player in the central area as they look to attack the space behind the Lanus midfield.

Again, though, he reads the situation well. He is quick across the ground to engage the Defensa player as he looks to break away. Belmonte reads his intention of looking to carry through the middle of the pitch, slowing down as he reaches him to stick out a leg to intercept and stop any dangerous counterattack from developing further.

Celtic Way:

Belmonte averages 1.6 fouls per 90, which is not overly concerning. It is fewer than Nir Bitton’s 2.03 fouls per 90 from last season, which was the highest of any Celtic midfielder.

However, he has picked up 15 yellow cards - working out at 0.62 per 90 - and one red in the last year so he could work on becoming more controlled in his aggression when defending.

Passing

Belmonte is calm and composed in possession. He has excellent close control and copes well when pressed. He likes to drop deep to receive the ball from the centre-backs to dictate play from deep.

Although not to the same level, Lanus do tend to dominate the ball with an average ball possession of 54.3 per cent for this year in the Argentine Primera Division so Belmonte is used to seeing plenty of the ball. Playing an even more possession-based side like Celtic (67.3 per cent league-average possession last season) would see Belmonte’s passing output increase further.

Celtic Way:

The above shows an example of Belmonte’s passing range. Here he has stepped up to engage the opposition in the centre of the park and again shows his good anticipation to read the opponent's attempted pass inside. After intercepting, Belmonte takes a touch before quickly opening his body up to play a nicely weighted pass in behind the opposition left-back. 

Celtic Way:

The next still shows a final pass from Belmonte in a nice bit of build-up play involving his former team-mate Bernabei.

Receiving the ball initially in a deep midfield position, Belmonte plays a quick one-two with one of the more advanced Lanus midfielders before playing the first-time pass out to Bernabei. The left-back then plays the ball back to Belmonte who takes one touch to steady himself before guiding the pass into the path of Bernabei who can then cross into the box.

In terms of areas of improvement in his passing, he does tend to be overambitious at times and his accuracy rate drops off a bit when attempting long-range passes. However, he would likely not be encouraged to attempt too many long balls in Postecoglou’s system where the focus would be more on playing one- and two-touch to work the ball through the opposition.

Goals and assists 

As seen in the pizza chart, Belmonte can offer something going forward as well as defensively. This would not be the primary reason Celtic would bring him in but his ability to contribute goals and assists from midfield would still be an asset.

As mentioned, Belmonte has one goal and three assists in the last calendar year in the Argentine Primera Division. He is also composed when in attacking areas of the park, capable of finding the final ball to create goal-scoring opportunities for his team-mates.

Celtic Way:

An example of this can be seen above. Here, against River Plate, Belmonte receives the ball from the wide area before carrying it into the box. He then produces a nice feint to beat the defender and open up the space on the right where he calmly picks out a team-mate at the back post to finish first time.

Celtic Way:

Although he doesn’t get into scoring situations often, Belmonte can offer a goal threat. He found the net with a header from a corner for Argentina at the 2020 Olympics in Japan and last year also produced a spectacular finish for Lanus against Velez – a still and clip of which can be seen above.

Drifting into the box, Belmonte controls the cross from the right with his chest before producing an acrobatic overhead kick that flies past the keeper.

Again, this wouldn’t be one of the main ways Belmonte would be expected to contribute at Celtic but having another threat in the box, particularly from set-plays, would certainly be an advantage.

Conclusion

Although he does have a few rough edges, Belmonte looks like a fantastic prospect that would be well suited to the profile Celtic are looking for.

The question may be whether the board are willing to sanction another signing in the £4million-plus price bracket in this window.

If not, he's certainly one to keep an eye on in future. If they were, though, Belmonte would represent another exciting addition to the cast for act two of 'Ange-ball'.