AS ANGE Postecoglou and Celtic go about the business of sorting the team's squad depth issues, a fresh name has emerged as a candidate for a move to Parkhead.
Algeria international winger Zinedine Ferhat, currently playing for French Ligue 2 side Nimes Olympique, is out of contract in the summer.
While Ferhat is 28 - and will turn 29 in March - there has already been a departure from Celtic's recent recruitment norm in terms of age with multiple players in their mid-20s (and a couple older) signed up this season as the club appears to be placing more of an emphasis on additions who are first-team-ready at this juncture.
Ferhat is reportedly also in the sights of French top-flight stalwarts Montpellier, while Saint-Etienne's interest has supposedly cooled and he was previously linked with a move to Rangers.
Here, The Celtic Way looks closer to find out more about the Nimes winger…
Who is Zinedine Ferhat?
Ferhat started his senior career with Alger SC in his home country, winning every domestic honour available to him before joining French side Le Havre in summer 2016.
He shone at the Ligue 2 team, with the 2017-18 campaign proving particularly fruitful as he laid on a division-record 20 assists. After one more season with Le Havre – bringing him to three at the club in total – Ferhat joined Nimes in the French top flight.
While in the south of France he helped the club avoid relegation by one place in his first season before succumbing to that fate in the next campaign. In both seasons Ferhat led the team in assists and finished in the top three of Nimes players in terms of minutes played and goals scored.
This term has been different. Ferhat has fallen out of favour, playing just 389 minutes and failing to register a goal or assist. His intention to move appears clear, with reports emerging recently suggesting he has missed Nimes training as he attempts to engineer a departure.
Internationally, Ferhat was named in the African Under-20 Championship team of the tournament in 2013 and earned a senior squad call-up as a result, making his debut aged 20.
He found additional caps hard to come by afterwards – earning just one more until July 2017 – and has since garnered a total of 13 senior appearances in a variety of positions.
What type of player would Celtic be getting?
His direct assist numbers – which outdone his xA even when he played in the French top tier – speak to Ferhat’s steady facilitating powers although it must be said he is not an equal goal threat and generally underperforms his xG whether turning out in the top flight or second division.
The 28-year-old has operated mostly on the right wing as a senior pro but, over the past year, he has garnered a lot of game-time on the left too while with the national team he has been used at right-back and central midfield.
While not in possession of explosive pace, his direct intentions and good footwork allied to a 6ft frame provides a more robust option on the flank than any of Celtic’s current crop of wingers. Indeed, he backs that more physical profile up with a decent aerial duel success rate (almost 50 per cent) for a player in his position as well as a knack for intercepting the ball almost three times per game.
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As the table below shows, there are points of similarity between Ferhat and Celtic’s two main first-team wingers. This is particularly true of James Forrest - and their career stages/age means a considerable amount of data to portray their habits - although it must be acknowledged that he does not significantly outperform both Forrest and Jota in any of the main metrics included.
Nonetheless, he is a cost-effective option due to the recent fall-out at Nimes coupled with his expiring contract and that in itself could prove an attractive proposition for a club already 15 players deep into a rebuild.
Where would he actually fit?
The sort of playing style he has been used to in his career is rather different from what he would find at Parkhead.
Neither Nimes nor Le Havre are or were ball-dominant sides while Ferhat has not generally been part of a high-pressing team either (this season, the one he has fallen out of favour, has saw Nimes record their ‘best’ PPDA of 8.68).
Likewise, Celtic’s penchant for utilising crosses – which, to be fair, could potentially start to dissipate now they have added more central options – is around double what Ferhat is used to at Nimes so there are stylistic concerns were he to join up with Postecoglou’s side.
At 28 years old, too, the peak time he has left could be relatively short given his position and the Celtic wings are currently quite well-stocked (in addition to Jota and Forrest, Postecoglou already has Daizen Maeda and Mikey Johnston in the squad with Karamoko Dembele returning from injury and Owen Moffat on the fringes).
There is also an argument that if he is signed it would push the likes of Dembele down the pecking order and limit any potential first-team opportunities for highly-rated youngsters such as Moffat and Rocco Vata.
Ultimately, the fact Ferhat is both budget-friendly and first-team-ready might trump keeping that pathway open in the short-term – but whether it should or not is perhaps the greater debate.
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