Former Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas has acknowledged his mistake regarding Aaron Mooy. He initially questioned Ange Postecoglou’s choice to bring Mooy to the club during the summer transfer window.
Postecoglou, who had previously worked with the midfielder as the head coach of the Australian national team, had complete confidence in Mooy’s abilities.
Despite needing time to regain his fitness, Mooy was gradually incorporated into the Celtic team by Postecoglou. He gradually earned the support of the Parkhead fans and has been exceptional since coming back from a successful World Cup performance. Nicholas now believes Mooy to be the BEST player in Scotland after the international break, due to his impressive displays.
He told the Scottish Daily Express: “I have to hold my hands up and admit Aaron Mooy has silenced me and the rest of his critics by becoming a massive player for Celtic. When he arrived last July, I was wondering what Ange Postecoglou had done.
“I knew the pair had worked together previously with the Australian national team but Mooy looked a yard off the pace in his first few weeks for the Hoops.
“He seemed to slow the play down and I didn’t see how he was going to fit into Postecoglou’s team, which loves to play with speed and moves the ball about constantly. At that point, I wasn’t talking about the 32-year-old midfielder’s fitness, more his game management. I know Mooy hadn’t played for several months before he pitched up at Parkhead, but in a lot of his early games I just couldn’t see what he was going to bring.
“He did get fitter and sharper but the real catalyst was the World Cup, where he performed really well for Australia. Mooy has looked like a completely different player since coming back from Qatar. He is completely transformed. He’s been the best player in the country since the restart and has scored five times in the last seven games.
“He is now a vital cog in Celtic’s attacking play, a major goal threat and has forged a great partnership with captain Callum McGregor. That is testament to Mooy himself and Postecoglou for putting his trust in him. There is now real competition in the engine room, with Reo Hatate also in there.
“Matt O’Riley is a top player and until recently he was one of the first names on the team sheet. But even he is no longer guaranteed to start in this Celtic side.”
Charlie is known for being quick to criticise Celtic and their players, but he wasn’t alone in his skepticism about the Mooy transfer. Many fans of the club thought it was an uncharacteristic misstep from the Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou.
Not only as Aaron played his way into the starting XI but he now offers penalty expertise on the rare occasion Celtic actually get one.
He could be the surprise package if this season.
