Scouting Report #6 sees wee_od (our resident Head Scout) find us four more players he reckons could do a job for Celtic.
Scouting Report #6 sees wee_od (our resident Head Scout) find us four more players he reckons could do a job for Celtic. Two right-backs, a striker and a winger to consider…
First up is Daryl Janmaat. A Dutch right-back or right-wing-back currently playing at Sc Heerenveen. Not a lot of info or videos on his play but from what I can tell he likes to go forward and use his pace – he is pretty quick. At 6ft 1in he also has a good physique so he is certainly no pushover. I think he is probably most comparable to Andreas Hinkel. Cant think of any other right-back to compare him with. Janmatt is still only 21-years-old at the moment but has been playing first team football in Holland since he was 17 or 18 years of age – having started out at ADO Den Haag. He has 18 months left on his current contract but is only valued at around £880,000 according to transfermarket.com.
The other option is 23-year-old Pablo Cendros. A Spanish right-back currently playing with Mallorca. His current contract runs out in 6 months so is free to sign a pre-contract – which is what initially made me look at him as I know that this is the sort of deal we are looking to make. Cendros, at 5ft 9in, is slightly smaller than Janmaat but I think he is quicker and more similar in style to Izzaguire. Cendros, despite his size, can also play at centre-back. It is only this season that he has actually started to play for Mallorca (having started in the Mallorca B team and then the next three seasons on loan at Benidorm in the second division, where he made 37 appearances). Only 8 appearances the following season with Tenerife in the second division. However, last season saw Cendros make 35 appearances for Levante where he was one of the mainstays in the Levante defence – helping them win them promotion back to La Liga.
He has started in most of Mallorca’s matches this season – most notably in the season opener where he and his defence kept Real Madrid at bay in a 0-0 draw.
His market value has grown considerably and he is now valued at around £1.3M but, as I said, he is available on a pre-contract.
Next up is a striker, Tim Matavz. A 21-year-old, 6ft 2in Slovenian International. Matavz, who currently plays for FC Groningen, made his real breakthrough last season scoring 14 goals in 34 games with 4 assists – half of those appearances coming from the bench – he also added another 2 goals from 3 cup appearances. So far this season, his record is 14 goals and 5 assists in 25 games in all competitions, starting only 4 of those games from the bench. It’s not surprising then, with stats like those, that he is now attracting strong interest. His current deal expires in the summer of 2013 but he is only valued at around £1.5m – £2.5m, which is well within our budget.
The last player is a winger whose name will certainly be more familiar, Daniel De Ridder. 26-year-old De Ridder is a product of the Ajax youth academy and made 30 appearances for Ajax, playing in the Champions League and winning the league with the Dutch giants. He then moved to Celta Vigo but was not there long before Steve Bruce snapped him up for Birmingham City. He played his last game for Birmingham back in 2008, when Alex McLeish decided that De Ridder was more suited to a passing style of play. His contract was ended by mutual consent and, the next day, Steve Bruce snapped him up again and took him to Wigan. Unfortunately, for De Ridder, a change of management once again meant he fell out of favour with the new Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, and the player has lost both form and market value as a result. De Ridder has now returned to Wigan after a recent loan spell with Hapoel Tel Aviv came to an end, and played in Wigan’s recent FA Cup win over Hull. However, with his contract up at the end of the season and the player now able to sign a pre-contract agreement, it seems unlikely his future lies at Wigan.
Good pace, ridiculous skill and a cracking delivery from both open play and set pieces he really is a very gifted player. A really determined winger too, who also makes time and space for himself, likes to pass and move and can ride a challenge well. If anyone is reading this and is not convinced about him, just watch the video of him (*available in our forum) playing for Birmingham and taking the p*** out of Arsenal – of all teams! Impressive doesn’t do it justice!
Quite possibly one of the best freebies going right now! He just needs to rediscover his form and have a manager who believes in him to help him rediscover it. You don’t just lose ability like this man has. Considering he would be free and, at still only 26 years of age, he is well worth a gamble!
wee_od – Vital Celtic Head Scout
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