Many were sceptical when Ange Postecoglou signed Aaron Mooy to play for Celtic last summer however, particularly in the second half of the 2022/23 season, the Australian has been a key figure for the Hoops.

Five goals and seven assists in 16 appearances across all competitions since the World Cup makes for impressive reading for Mooy however ex Celtic forward and fan favourite Chris Sutton has admitted he wasn’t impressed by the 32 year old at first (KEEPUP):

“He came over and had a slow start. Even when he went to the World Cup, and I went out to Qatar, I was thinking blimey, he’s not been playing great for Celtic this season, everything is a bit slow.

“He played in that St. Mirren game [a 2-0 away loss] as the number six/pivot and McGregor played more forward. A lot of criticism of him was that Celtic lacked that speed of passing.”

Mooy, though, went to the World Cup and caught the eye for Australia, Sutton believing he was immense:

“I thought he was brilliant for Australia at the World Cup and then coming back to Celtic, and he has been really important and Daizen Maeda especially. They’ve given the team a lift.”

Sutton is absolutely correct in saying that both Mooy and Maeda have helped Celtic move up a gear since the World Cup. The former’s upturn in form has been rather unexpected but Sutton always knew what Mooy was capable of:

“In many respects, he [Mooy] has surprised a lot [of] Celtic fans in winning that battle with O’Riley. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of O’Riley, far from it.

“You always know there is a player in there because of his past. I knew there’s a player in there but at 32, there’s always that doubt.”

Although he missed out on Sunday’s trip to Ross County, Aaron Mooy looks like he’ll be back in time for this weekend’s Glasgow derby. Celtic fans will therefore be hoping the Australian can keep up his fine post World Cup form in one of the biggest games of the season to date.