da bwin： Wilfried Nancy’s implementation of a 3-4-2-1 system at Celtic has provided some players with a fresh chance to emerge as regular starters for the club.

da pinup bet： Hyun-jun Yang, who scored against Livingston last time out, has established himself as the first-choice option as the right-sided wing-back, for example, since the Frenchman came in.

Anthony Ralston is another player who has benefitted from the change in formation, starting the last four matches as a right-sided centre-back, but his performances have left a lot to be desired.

67HailHail described his performance against Livingston as a ‘nightmare’, handing him a 4/10 player rating, and claimed that some fans ‘have had enough’ of the experienced defender, because of his errors.

Celtic eyeing move for Premier League defender

The Hoops are now reportedly looking at adding a player to their squad next month who could be the end of Ralston’s career with the Scottish giants.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to The Scottish Sun, Nancy is lining up a move to sign Bournemouth right-back Julian Araujo on loan from the Premier League side in the January transfer window.

The report claims that the defender is due to move on from the Vitality ahead of the second half of the campaign, and that the Hoops could swoop to bring him to Parkhead.

It adds that the full-back, who played in the MLS whilst Nancy was managing over there, is viewed as an ideal player for the manager’s 3-4-2-1 system.

The Scottish Sun reports that Celtic are ‘strong contenders’ to secure his services on loan until the end of the season, as they want to add more quality to their backline.

Why Celtic should sign Julian Araujo

Nancy should push for the club to get this deal over the line because he could end Ralston’s Celtic career by coming through the door to take the starting spot on the right of the back three.

Araujo has yet to play a single minute of football in the Premier League for Bournemouth this season, after starting seven matches last season, but his form in the MLS in the past suggests that he could be a good option.

The Mexico international caught the eye with his performances for LA Galaxy in the MLS and with Las Palmas in LaLiga during the 2023/24 campaign.

Araujo, as explained in the post above, excelled in possession during his time in the MLS, which is backed up by a return of 11 assists in his last two seasons with the Galaxy, per Sofascore.

Ralston, meanwhile, has provided six assists in all competitions since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, per Sofascore, and is yet to create a ‘big chance’ or assist a goal in 14 appearances in the Scottish Premiership so far this season.

Julian Araujo (MLS)

2021

2022

Appearances

32

35

Goals

0

1

Key passes per game

1.1

1.2

Big chances created

8

6

Assists

6

5

Tackles + interceptions per game

4.7

3.4

Duel success rate

51%

50%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Araujo provided quality as both an offensive force and as an out-and-out defender in his last two seasons in the MLS, which may be where he caught Nancy’s eye.

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Upon signing for Bournemouth in 2024, Chief Executive Neill Blake claimed that the full-back has “high potential”, but he has not had many opportunities to fulfill that potential, starting just seven league matches to date.

Celtic could provide him with an opportunity to start week-in-week-out in Glasgow as a loan signing for the second half of the season, which would offer him a chance to finally fulfill his potential by playing regular minutes.

His mixture of creativity and defensive quality with LA Galaxy suggests that he could offer more than Ralston, who has created nothing this season, as the right-sided centre-back in Nancy’s system, leaving the Scottish dud on the bench.

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Then, Ralston could find himself struggling to make the bench once Alistair Johnston is back fit and ready to compete for Araujo for a position in the side, which is why this signing could facilitate the end of the right-back’s career at Celtic, as he may have to consider his future at Parkhead.