Brazilian Serie A Celtic transfer options scouted: A young Thiago and the 'aggressive presser' with creativity in mind

Brazil has traditionally been its hotspot and the Brasileirão - the country's top-flight still has an abundance of talent. Although Celtic haven’t had many Brazilian players, there is no reason to think there won't be more to grace the Parkhead turf in the future.

With the potential of several young players in the division, casting an eye there could well prove to be a shrewd decision for Celtic.

Here, we identify three players who could be equipped to supplement Ange Postecoglou's side in the future...

Marlon (Fluminense)

Nationality: Brazilian; Age: 24; Position: Left-back; Preferred foot: Left; TransferMarkt Value: £3.15m

Celtic have recently filled some gaps in midfield, however, the left-back role is one they could potentially upgrade.

Marlon Rodrigues of Fluminense has already tasted European football following his experience in Portugal with Boavista and the Turkish Süper Lig with Trabzonspor.

Marlon is the kind of left-back who loves going forward and trying to make things happen for his team from an attacking point of view. The Brazilian is comfortable moving into the central areas of the pitch and making inside runs after quick interplay in the wide areas. He isn’t an inverted full-back, per see, but rather has the ability to be one.

He is a threat going forward and has the reputation of being a volume crosser with the ability to whip a variety of balls into dangerous areas. The 24-year-old can, however, be a tad wasteful at times when looking for crosses from deeper areas.

Despite a frustrating spell in Turkey, the last year has been pretty good for Marlon. He ranks high in areas such as expected assists and key passing in the Brasileirão while an added positive is that he is a good set-piece taker - something that could be a valuable asset to Celtic.

However, his defensive game isn’t as good as his attacking side. He doesn’t tend to make many defensive actions and has a tendency to get caught ball-watching. Awareness, in other words, is one of his glaring weaknesses which would need work if he is to play at the highest level with a team like Celtic.

In addition, Marlon’s one-v-one defending is probably best described as average, though this might improve if he adapts his body orientation. The picture below shows how he sets up against dribbles - his body orientation often hinders his reaction time, forcing him to go to ground often to win tackles. He actually goes to ground quite often in general, as the sliding tackles figure indicates, and is partial to giving away some fouls.

Despite the issues he has to work on in his defensive output, Marlon's attacking potency makes him a decent fit for Celtic should they wish to strengthen the left-back spot.

João Gomes (Flamengo)

Nationality: Brazilian; Age: 20; Position: Central midfielder; Preferred foot: Right; TransferMarkt Value: £4.5m

Despite the additions of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley to Postecoglou's central midfield options, it is always smart to look for potential future acquisitions and João Gomes is a player Celtic should keep an eye on in this regard.

Gomes loves to float around the half-spaces and is someone who makes his influence known in the middle third of the pitch. His passing is neat and tidy although he mostly prefers playing it safe and recycling possession to attempting incisive through balls. The 20-year–old is quite similar to Liverpool midfielder Thiago in terms of style despite being some way off that level of quality at this point in his career.

READ MORE: Celtic’s four unwanted players - a lesson in recruitment

Despite being a safe option in possession, Gomes is still someone who tries to move the ball forward with his passing when he can. Although he has long passes in his locker, he doesn’t attempt them very often and averages just two attempts per 90. Despite not necessarily being 'progressive' with his passing, he does get into good areas and gets involved in shot-creating sequences regularly.

Gomes can hold off his man by using his upper-body strength and possesses good technical ability. His quick feet and trickery helps him get past players. The above example is a clear case of one such instance where he holds off his marker and quickly turns using the ability with his feet to brush the ball away from the reach of his opponent, before sliding in a good through pass for Gabigol, his team-mate.

The shades of Thiago can be seen in the way he moves around the pitch and effectively utilises turns to get past players when needed as well as the way he receives the ball and tries to scoop it over opposition players. He uses his strength and carrying in tight spaces to evade press at times.

The 20-year-old is around 5ft 9in tall and doesn't have a particularly good aerial win rate but he is an above-average ball-winner despite his tendency to go to ground to win tackles. Out of possession, he does tend to struggle at times after turnovers as his recovery pace is quite slow.

Overall, Gomes looks like a player who could go a long way with better coaching and as he accumulates experience. His intelligence and technical ability makes him a player to watch out for in the future.

Victor Bobsin (Grêmio)

Nationality: Brazilian; Age: 22; Position: Defensive midfielder; Preferred foot: Left; TransferMarkt Value: £0.7million

Victor Bobsin would be a cheaper alternative to Gomes, albeit he is a deeper operator. He hasn’t played many minutes for Grêmio in the last calendar year but is someone who could add to the squad options at Celtic in the future.

His heat map above illustrates his involvement in the centre of the pitch. He generally plays a deeper role, normally in a double pivot of a 4-2-3-1 or as a defensive midfielder but can take up different positions in the central areas of the pitch when his team is in possession and consistently shows up as a receiving option.

His passing isn’t extraordinary but he is still progressive; he loves getting the ball into the creative players and always looks for those passes. If he can't be progressive with a pass, he generally opts to carry the ball forward.

Under pressure, he normally uses his strength to brush players aside and is a 'passes often under pressure' type of player. Bobsin is a strong player and uses his strength to outmuscle players in duels.

The 22-year-old can often be seen making quick forward runs after the first phase of build-up and one of his main strengths is his aggressive pressing. He closes down players very quickly and tries to win back possession for his team. That leads to him attempting a fair amount of duels although his win rate of around 50 per cent is quite average.

Likewise, he is quick in recovering and makes the effort in sprinting back to provide cover for his team-mates during turnovers.

Bobsin would undoubtedly need to polish aspects of his game to reach the levels required to start for a team such as Celtic but he has potential, is already at the level of a good squad player and is cost-effective.