French Ligue 2 Celtic transfer options scouted: Potential long-term Joe Hart successor and versatile winger with superb delivery

In terms of talent production, both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 have proved to be a market to look into for the smart teams across the continent.

Despite being the second division, some of the top clubs in Europe’s top five leagues have jumped into the Ligue 2 market to get potential bargains. Amine Adli, Ibrahim Sangaré, Kouadio Koné, Maxence Lacroix and Janis Antiste are just a few names who have made moves for decent fees to the likes of the Bundesliga, Serie A and the Eredivisie.

With the variety of talent available, Ligue 2 should definitely be one of the markets that Ange Postecoglou should consider looking into.

Here, we will look at three players who could potentially fit in well at Celtic...

Yassine Benrahou (Nîmes Olympique)

Nationality: Moroccan; Age: 22; Position: Right Winger/Attacking midfielder; Preferred foot: Left; Transfermarkt Value: £2.7million

Liel Abada is a real talent and has posted some really good underlying numbers. However, Celtic could use another player in that position to add more quality and depth. Yassine Benrahou could be a good option in this regard.

He is an exciting player who has played in different positions for Nîmes this season. Nîmes have mainly used a 4-1-4-1 with Benrahou playing on the right or left wing. The 22-year-old is a potent attacker and is heavily involved in the final phase of play. He is more of a playmaker and “do-it-with-the-ball” player than a runner.

First, we will look at some of his creative numbers:

Benrahou attempts a lot of through balls and key passes and he has a good knack of picking out runners. He also has a good passing range and uses his long-ball ability to take out the opposition defence and give runners one-v-one opportunities with the opposition keepers. He loves to drift into central areas of the pitch when he can influence more in central areas.

Benrahou isn’t a high-volume dribbler but is very productive as he can use his close ball control to get out of press traps and tight spaces. He is particularly good at take-ons and can beat his man with a quick turn of feet and acceleration.

Benrahou’s crossing ability is superb, especially when he can wrap around his left foot to curl in. The best part about his crossing isn’t the way he crosses but the areas he consistently puts the ball into - the type of places poachers love. His crossing would be a big plus for teams who have forwards with brilliant movement, such as a certain Kyogo Furuhashi for instance.

Benrahou does get into the box at times but is generally someone who prefers to facilitate play than be a receiver or a runner. His link-up play is good and he is able to play quick, short passes and one-twos to break a compact defence. His output is also quite good and he doesn’t hesitate to take shots from distance when there is an opportunity.

He isn’t quite two-footed but is capable of taking shots with his weaker right foot when required. However, he prefers his left foot when he is dribbling and his weak-foot first touches show that he could use some work on that.

His weaknesses lie in an out-of-possession sense. He does have a tendency to get caught ball-watching occasionally while his tracking back could use an injection of intensity at times. In addition, he has a propensity for playing for fouls a lot but, despite these weaknesses, Benrahou could prove to be a smart buy for Postecoglou and add more quality to the team.

Yoel Armougom (Stade Malherbe Caen)

Nationality: French; Age: 23; Position: Left-back; Preferred Foot: Left; Transfermarkt Value: £800,000

Yoel Armougom could be a cheap and immediate option for Celtic at left-back.

Caen have set up differently this season, alternating between a back four and back three of late. Armougom slots into a wing-back role when Caen play with the latter.

The 23-year-old loves going forward and influencing the attacking side of the team’s game:

The data above confirms his ability to thread in dangerous passes. He loves taking a higher position on the pitch and is also a high-volume crosser. His passing is progressive and he moves the ball into the final third frequently. Armougom is, however, more of an overlapping full-back and tends to stay out wide and hug the touchline.

The French left-back is a dribbler and is pacy enough to beat players. He looks to take on players when he is not crowded out in a press.

In such situations, he tends to look backwards for a safer passing option. His pace also helps him massively in recoveries. His crossing is quite impressive too as he tends to deliver crosses in and around the six-yard box for players to attack. However, he does tend to get rusty sometimes and deliver poor crosses - consistency is an issue.

The defensive side of his game is something that would need working on but the numbers below show that he is a less-action type of full-back in a defensive sense. He takes up a higher position which makes him play catch-up during turnovers but he does stay narrow out of possession when the ball is in the opposite flank. He can be spotted taking a look over his shoulder regularly when defending.

Despite the low volume in his defensive actions, he doesn’t compromise on aggressiveness when it comes to duelling.

He is very aggressive with his closing down and tackling and gets tight to players.  His one-v-one defending, however, is a hit-and-miss situation with the opposition taking advantage of his aggressiveness and tight marking to turn him.

READ MORE: Kyogo brilliance and set-piece flaws - The statistical story of Celtic's season so far

Armougom usually tries to use his upper body to get tighter to opponents and it puts him at a disadvantage in certain situations as he gets left behind when players with good technical ability manage to beat him in a take-on.

In summary, Celtic would be impressed with the attacking side of his game while a little polishing on the defensive end could put him on the shortlists for a lot more clubs around Europe.

Yahia Fofana (Le Havre AC)

Nationality: French; Age: 19; Position: Goalkeeper; Preferred Foot: Right; Height: 6ft 4in; Transfermarkt Value: £1.35million

Joe Hart has been a brilliant signing and has been putting in good performances - but Celtic could use a good backup keeper who can take over the role in the future. One of the possible solutions from Ligue 2 would be Yahia Fofana.

Here's how he fares against his competition:

It is very clear from the data that Fofana ranks high in terms of shot-stopping (PSxG-GA). Although this could be influenced by the below average quality shots he faces regularly (PSxG per shot). However, his save rate is also supreme and suggests a safe pair of hands between the sticks.

One of his biggest strengths is that he never hesitates to come off his line for aerial balls, regularly competing to punch or claim in the penalty area. Although he isn’t someone who steps out of the box to sweep per se, he commands the penalty area and can be found taking aggressive positions to collect.

One of the areas where he is questioned is his positioning. He does tend to take to take a higher starting position when setting up to make saves rather than staying close to his line. This is possibly down to his activeness to claim but puts him at a disadvantage at times. That decision-making needs to be better while he also tends to drift more towards the near post area leaving a large amount of space in the far post area.

Despite some flaws in his positioning, his strong reflexes more than make up for it. He has made some highlight-reel saves which could’ve looked easier had his positioning been better but having strong reflexes is definitely a huge positive.

The picture above is a good example of situations where his strong reflexes excel. His diving is also quite good and considering his height, he is normally well positioned to make flying saves. However, he tends to take a step towards the opposite direction of the jump to gain more momentum. This might turn out to be an issue when facing shots with power and placement where that extra second counts, suggesting his footwork can certainly improve.

Fofana is good at long distributions and consistently attempts longer passes with his goalkicks. These are mainly put into good areas of the pitch where in Le Havre can use quick knockdowns and progress quickly.

His technical ability isn’t the best and it is something he can definitely work on in the long-term as he would need to be better with his feet and short passing to play for teams that like to build-up from the back like Celtic.

Despite the few flaws in his game, Fofana profiles as someone who would improve and can take his game even further. He could prove to be a very sensible buy for Celtic in the long-run if not immediately.