3 ideal Celtic transfer options from France as clever winger looks creatively tantalising

Whether it be Ligue 1 or Ligue 2, the country has been a talent factory and has provided a spotlight for some of the most attractive names in world football.

Celtic would, then, be taking the smart route by diving into the French market for some potential signings. Some interesting players could be picked up in the summer of 2022, if not the imminent January window.

Here, we will take a closer look at three players who would all be potential bargain-buys.

Arnaud Kalimuendo (RC Lens, on-loan from PSG)

Paris Saint-Germain have been happy to let go of their prized youth players in the recent past. As well as Odsonne Edouard, they have allowed the likes of Kingsley Coman, Christopher Nkunku and Yacine Adli go to make their names elsewhere.

Celtic could find themselves hitting a potential jackpot in Arnaud Kalimeuendo Muinga if they manage to sign him from PSG next summer. The PSG youth product is currently on loan at RC Lens in Ligue 1 after a spell with Lens last season.

Kalimuendo is a right-footed centre-forward who stands 5ft 7in tall. His biggest threat lies in his blistering pace but the 19-year-old also loves to drop a little deeper to try to connect midfield with attack and has been sighted down the left channel too.

He is a huge threat with his quick accelerations and his ability to race past defenders while he has proved to be a real menace with his dribbling. Indeed, he also earns a lot of fouls with his sudden bursts and movements.

His hold-up play is quite good for his size, which he uses to his advantage by often turning his man or moving the ball quickly into good areas.

While he is not afraid to take on players Kalimuendo is equally not shy in getting shots away whenever there is an opening. That said, his decision-making in regards to when to shoot likely needs work but his shooting technique outside the box is sweet, particularly from the central-left side of the pitch.

We will take a look at his non-penalty shots from the 2020-21 season to now in Ligue 1.

Kalimuendo has taken a fair few shots from outside the box which he probably shouldn’t have but he is a real threat inside the box. An xG/shot (shot quality) of 0.17 is quite decent as well.

Another key asset to his game is his movement off the ball. In a sense, that is what makes him a potential complete package. He often makes clever runs off the ball that creates space down the central areas by pulling opposition defences in. We will take a look at a few instances with some pictures when France U21 played Armenia U21.

You can see how quickly he sets off here and makes this run into space. He didn’t move too wide the pass was well-placed for him to take a touch and then shoot. His shot ended up being saved but the rebound was scored.

For more evidence, we can take a look at his goals against Troyes (clip 1) and Lyon (clip 2) in Ligue 1 this season.

His first goal of the game was him being in the right place by getting in behind the centre-backs.

This goal against Lyon is even better and is a wonderful team goal as well. A quick one-two with Gael Kakuta set him up and also shows how quick he can set a move off.

It is worth noting that Kalimuendo generally does his job out of possession as well as he ranks fourth-best* in Ligue 1 in attacking third pressures per 90 (9.85).

* Players who have played five games or more

Arnaud Nordin (AS Saint-Etienne)

A seven-hour drive down south from Lens can take you to Saint-Etienne.

The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Blaise Matuidi, Kurt Zouma and Dimitri Payet made their names there.

It looks as though Willian Saliba is going to be another one in that mould soon with the impact he is making. However, the player we are going to focus on is a gem who is so far going quite under the radar.

Arnaud Nordin might not be a showstopper but is an interesting proposition. We will first have a look at the 23-year-old left-footed winger's creativity through a visualisation:

His numbers are intriguing; he is involved in a fair amount of goals, ranks high in non-penalty goal contributions as well as expected assists.

He is not, however, someone who will slip in through balls, although he does get involved in the final phases of play and often occupies central areas to get shots away. Indeed, his penalty-box touches confirm that notion.

Nordin can play on either wing too. He drops wide in the initial build-up phase, shows for the ball and then tries to move into the half-spaces when there is an opportunity to break the opposition defence.

He does tend to make some progressive runs although that is not necessarily a consistent feature of his game yet.

As per FBRef, Nordin is also in the top 25* in Ligue 1 this season for progressive carries per 90 (7.18). In addition, he is a good dribbler (especially in one-v-ones), gets crosses in and wins a fair amount of fouls.

READ MORE: Three Dutch players Celtic should target as marauding left-back looks tailor made

Saint-Etienne have the sixth-best PPDA according to WyScout which means they have been a fairly good pressing side under Claude Puel. To that end, Nordin uses his quick accelerations to pressure opposition players when they try to play out from the back.

* Players who have played five games or more

Lilian Brassier (Stade Brestois)

Celtic already have a left-footed centre-back in Liam Scales, although he hasn’t played enough minutes for them this season to accurately say how well he will fit in.

In that respect, the Hoops could potentially use another one - and one who excels in passing especially.

Lilian Brassier of Stade Brest is a name Ange Postecoglou could go for.

Before analysing his general strengths and weaknesses, we will take a focused look at his passing ability with some visualisations:

As you can see from the data, Brassier loves playing the ball up. He ranks highly in progressive passing while the volume of them that he attempts is also very encouraging, not least because most of them help his team move the ball into the final third. He can break lines with his passing (see the image below) by opening up angles, something of increasingly high value in the modern game.

Most importantly, the defensive side of his game isn’t weak by any stretch. There are, however, a few things he has to work on.

Brassier uses his strength well while marking and he is adept at getting tight to players. He steps out often to mark his man high up the pitch but the downside of this is that he tends to concede a foul when his target gets out. 

In the picture above, you can see how high Brassier is trying to win the ball back and he does successfully on this occasion. He does have to work on his decision-making with regards to when he should step out as he can get caught higher up the pitch when involved in build-up play. It is worth noting that he does often make amends for such instances with his quick recoveries and he is also fairly good in one-v-one situations.

The snaps below give an example of those quick recoveries. Monaco play through Brest’s defence and Brassier gets caught a little higher up the pitch. However, he uses his speed to catch up and make the tackle, clearing a big goalscoring opportunity.

Brassier is, at his core, a talented centre-back with an ability on the ball that could genuinely benefit a possession-heavy team like Celtic as well as recovery attributes that lend themselves to high defensive lines.