Celtic's Mexico transfer options: 'Incredible' teenage left-back whose skills are a 'huge weapon'

Notably, each was nurtured in the domestic division, the Liga MX, before their moves.

Apart from Efraín Juárez, however, there haven’t been any Mexican players to turn out for Celtic in the Scottish top-flight. Despite making an impressive start, the midfielder's spell at Parkhead wasn't exactly a success.

That, and a couple of high profile failures across the city, shouldn't spoil the well for more Mexican talents to move to Glasgow, though. The Liga MX has a deep talent pool at the moment so it would be a smart move for the Hoops to keep an eye on a few players there.

Here, we look at three such options...

Omar Campos (Santos Laguna)

Nationality: Mexican; Age: 19; Position: Left-back; Preferred foot: Left; Height: 5ft 9in; TransferMarkt value: £3.6million

Celtic will definitely look to reinforce the left-back position in the summer and Omar Campos should be one of the names at the very top of their shortlist. The young Mexican is full of energy, has very high potential and earned a call-up to the national team in December, although he was only on the bench.

Santos Laguna play a back four and the adventurous 19-year-old can often be found taking positions higher up the pitch. He likes to move forward at every opportunity and loves staying wide if possible.

As you can see from his offensive numbers, he loves to put in crosses regularly. Campos is a high-volume crosser with good quality. He ranks above average in key passes but does not take big risks in the opposition third. Additionally, he is a big offensive threat for Santos Laguna and could be even more threatening if he attempts more potent passes. There is no doubt that he would have to do that at Celtic under Ange Postecoglou if he were to sign.

Importantly, Campos is good at keeping hold of the ball. His incredible ball retention coupled with the ability to attract pressure and break out of it with his footwork will be a huge weapon for any team. He is good at getting out of a press and pulling off a line-breaking pass while proving capable of going long when required.

The above pictures are a good example of Campos's attacking capabilities, particularly when he ends up providing the assist for his team in a tough situation. He possesses good pace and can use that while making runs inwards. That agility was on show in the above scenario before he pulled off a good pass in between two players.

Campos gets caught higher up the pitch sometimes during turnovers but he tends to recover quickly and help cover that gap. Although he isn’t very tall, he wins his aerial duels more than an average player from both the Liga MX and the Premiership. When his team is defending, he exhibits good tactical awareness and doesn’t make silly errors. His defending fundamentals are on point in addition to being an offensive threat. Even in one-v-ones, he keeps his distance instead of getting too tight to give himself the advantage to catch up if the opposition player gets away.

However, one of Campos’s weaknesses is that he isn’t assertive or imposing enough in defensive duels and the numbers show that. He can sometimes be too easy to get pastin terms of failing to put enough pressure on the opponent during duels.

Overall, Campos is an exciting talent and could be one of Mexico’s brightest players in the future. He is odds-on to to be a regular for the national team in the near future and his player profile fits Postecoglou’s team.

Luis Olivas (Chivas Guadalajara)

Nationality: Mexican; Age: 22; Position: Centre-back; Preferred foot: Left; Height: 6ft; TransferMarkt value: £2.25million

Adding a ball-playing, left-footed, left-sided centre-back in the summer would be a smart choice for Celtic. Luis Olivas is a player that ticks all the boxes and one that could potentially come at a lower price than expected.

Olivas picked up an injury in a recent fixture and is on the treatment table at the moment but he is someone who has been a solid player for Chivas over the last year and has garnered one cap for Mexico with an appearance against Chile coming in December.

Olivas is very good on the ball and a glance at the numbers above would prove that. The Mexican centre-back is a notably progressive passer, attempting over 8.5 per 90 minutes. However, the majority of his progressiveness can be attributed to passing as he is not a great ball carrier from the back. That said, he not only passes well but is capable of advancing into the midfield third as an extra man.

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He has a good range of passing as well with a knack to find players via long balls. It feels like he could also add switches to his game as he is capable of pulling off long passes really well.

Olivas is generally calm in possession and, even when he is pressed while in possession, he doesn’t panic.

The 22-year-old is excellent at reading certain situations and pounces to win the ball back via an interception or a sliding tackle. He is excellent at winning his ground duels as well which is reflected in the numbers below.

Overall, the defensive side of his game is on the stronger end but he has a few minor weaknesses which need tuning.

He is weak in the air and tends to get beaten in aerial duels while, despite having a decent leap in him, sometimes suffers from a lack of assertiveness. This can often be seen in his marking as well, where he gets tight to his opponent but switches off for a second without being physically imposing, allowing the opposition player to get the better of him.

Despite some of these defensive flaws and a lack of elite pace, he is still a very good option for Celtic and could potentially be a bargain buy for a key position.

Fernando Beltrán (Chivas Guadalajara)

Nationality: Mexican; Age: 23; Position: Central midfield; Preferred foot: Right; Height: 5ft 6in; TransferMarkt Value: £4.05million

Fernando Beltrán was a highly-rated youngster not so long ago but has yet to make that big leap into a European club. He has four international caps to his name although every one of them has been in international friendlies. It is quite surprising to see him not making the squad despite being a very good player for Chivas overall.

Beltrán is a versatile player who is able to play anywhere in midfield although he is best in a 4-3-3. He is not a very adventurous midfielder in terms of getting into the final third and consistently playing risky passes, but he is capable of doing that in general. He comes to his best in the final third when he creates space for others.

In the first build-up phase, his body language is an open one to receive passes in space by tucking in front of the centre-backs if needed. Once he receives it, he looks to move it down the flanks rather than always looking for vertical passes. His biggest strength is the fact that he is a press-resistant midfielder who can turn and evade opponents quite well.

As you can see in the pictures above, Beltrán is an incredible ball carrier who dribbles his way into space with his immense control. It is quite difficult to get the ball away from him when he’s carrying it like that but the intriguing part about those situations is that he attracts opposition players, leaving gaps in the opposition for his team to exploit. He does that well and, crucially, regularly.

There was a similar situation in Chivas’s recent game against Toluca where he tracked back well and won the ball before taking a U-turn down the right flank and gliding past a couple of players with his impressive dribbling. In short, he was able to win the ball back and change the flow of the attack by creating a final-third opportunity for his team.

Despite his size, Beltrán is a tenacious dueller and is excellent at counter-pressing. He displays the urgency to win the ball back by getting on at players around him as well. However, when his team is defending, he isn’t really active at going for duels. That said, he has good awareness as well and doesn’t concede a lot of fouls either.

Overall, Beltran is a player who will potentially make it to Europe soon and he would be a smart option for Celtic if they can get him for a small fee.