AS TRANSFER season approaches, and with Celtic looking to improve the strength in depth of the squad in preparation for the Champions League, rumoured and actual signings are likely to draw significant attention from supporters.

In advance of last summer's rebuild I began an exercise that I plan to share periodically over the coming weeks as targets and signings emerge.

The key word here is 'exercise'. It is intended as what would be just part of a more comprehensive analytical approach when evaluating potential and actual player acquisitions.

The goal? To build a purely statistical profile for players by benchmarking performance metrics against their domestic league peers as well as a broader universe across senior competitions globally for their age group. The data source for this exercise in WyScout and its broad coverage across the globe.

To help introduce this exercise, this column will review a recent reported target - Mohanad Jeahze of Hammarby. Whether or not you feel Ange Postecoglou's recent comments poured some cold water on the link, his profile still offers a good example with which to introduce the concept.

Celtic Way:

The first table shows Jeahze over the trailing 12-month period in his domestic league, with his percentile ranking for each performance metric shown relative to the 19 full-backs (both left and right-sided) in his division that played at least 1,500 minutes.

The metrics are broken down into four conceptual categories: attack, defend, dribble/carry and pass. Given Jeahze just turned 25 in April - and the fact he is playing in Sweden at that age - it is conceivable that he should be a top performer in a pervasive way in order to even be considered at the aspirational Champions League-quality level for Celtic.

Generally speaking, his attack and pass metrics fit the bill in that regard as he was a standout performer compared to his domestic peer group. The defensive metrics selected focus upon efficiency. This is because teams vary in style of play in terms of the amount they defend or attack versus peers for instance. We can see that his defensive efficiency was more middle of the pack, while his dribbling and carrying were mixed.

The lower percentiles for progressive runs and accelerations, combined with the mediocre defensive efficiency percentiles, create some potential concern relative to pace and quickness. Considering Hammarby have been a relatively attacking side in the Swedish top flight, those concerns are heightened further.

The next table takes a look at Jeahze relative to an age-based peer group, or 393 full-backs from across all senior competitions globally within WyScout’s database over the trailing 12 months, between the ages of 24 to 27, who have played at least 2,500 minutes. The is nothing magical about these criteria - the goal is simply to try and create a reasonable peer group for comparison purposes.

Celtic Way:

As luck would have it, Greg Taylor happened to be within the same peer group so his metrics are included for further comparative context.

Both players’ attack metrics compare very well versus this peer group. One variable to consider is this: Jeahze was a primary taker of corners for Hammarby, so his expected assists and shot assists metrics will include those actions whereas obviously Taylor did not take corners for Celtic. With that in mind, their attack output was very comparable.

The defensive metrics offer an interesting contrast as Taylor was among the very best at winning defensive duels (which do not include aerial) but poor in overall duels and aerial ones.

Jeahze was very good in the air but otherwise mediocre. Neither were particularly impressive in beating players via dribbles or accelerations, though Taylor’s runs rated fairly well. Given what we know about Taylor’s pace and quickness, this comparison adds to the concerns about Jeahze’s related metrics.

Where Jeahze truly stood out was in his pass metrics, particularly those which threatened opponents’ penalty areas. He ranked near or at the very top for deep completed crosses and deep completions.

READ MORE: How Ange Postecoglou's key Celtic players stack up against 2019-20 quadruple-treble winners

Along with his overall crossing and attack metrics, Jeahze appears to be quite a dangerous attacking player. However, this introduces a question as to a potential role within a Postecoglou side. His profile for the last year fits far more with how Anthony Ralston played as a full-back versus either Taylor or Josip Juranovic, who both played more inverted and pseudo-midfield roles rather than mainly overlapping and attacking with crossed balls.

Purely from this specific exercise, the analytical conclusion has to be that Jeahze would be a comparable addition versus Taylor. While he would appear likely a serious upgrade relative to aerial balls, which was an obvious tactic opponents targeted relative to Celtic’s defensive left, his non-aerial defending may actually be a downgrade on Taylor. In addition, the potential red flags on pace and quickness could be an issue in Europe.

So while Jeahze's impressive attacking and related passing metrics would probably be well suited to improving Celtic’s output domestically, from this exercise it is questionable if he is the sort of material upgrade required to compete at Champions League level.