Celtic can unearth their own Palmer by hiring "refreshing" 4-2-3-1 manager
Celtic are currently searching for their next permanent head coach after they were rocked by the resignation of Brendan Rodgers last month.
The former Hoops boss decided to move on from Parkhead after a 3-1 defeat to Hearts that left his side eight points adrift of first place in the Scottish Premiership at the time.
As shown in the graphic above, the Northern Irish head coach enjoyed a largely successful second spell with the Glasgow giants, winning four trophies in two full seasons.
Martin O’Neill has been in interim charge of the Hoops since Rodgers moved on from Parkhead, and one manager who has been linked with the permanent role is Lee Carsley.
The latest on Lee Carsley to Celtic
It was recently reported that the Scottish giants are eyeing up the England U21 head coach as a potential replacement for Rodgers in the coming weeks.
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Celtic are said to be long-term admirers of the Irish tactician, who has won two U21 European Championship titles, and that he is one of the names under contention for the job.
However, it was also claimed that Carsley is not one of the frontrunners for the vacant position at this moment in time, which does not suggest that he is likely to arrive in Glasgow in the next few days.
The Hoops board, however, should push to bring the England U21 boss to Parkhead because he could unearth the club’s own version of Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer.
Celtic have their own Cole Palmer in the making
One of Carsley’s biggest selling points is that he has worked with and developed some of England’s finest talents. Per Transfermarkt, he has coached Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Conor Gallagher. Just to name a few.
Palmer delivered five goals and five assists in 17 matches as an attacking midfield player for the head coach at England U21 level, per Transfermarkt, and he has scored 45 goals in 101 games for Chelsea so far.
Celtic could unearth their own version of the England international in Arne Engels, who could take his game to the next level under Carsley, who was hailed as “refreshing” by midfielder Declan Rice
The England U21 manager typically plays a 4-2-3-1 system, per Transfermarkt, rather than a 4-3-3, which would allow the Belgium international to push on and play as a number ten, providing him with more opportunities to showcase his quality in the final third.
Engels, with ten goals and 13 assists in 52 matches, showed glimpses of his attacking quality in the 2024/25 campaign for Celtic, but he has yet to find the back of the net in the current campaign.
xG
10.05
Top 1%
Goals
9
Top 4%
Shots on target
19
Top 5%
xA
8.46
Top 1%
Assists
6
Top 7%
Chances created
57
Top 3%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the former Augsburg central midfielder excelled among his positional peers as an attacking force in the Scottish Premiership last season.
These statistics suggest that Engels can provide a regular threat at the top end of the pitch as an outstanding contributor, just as Palmer has for Chelsea, with 45 goals and 29 assists in 101 matches, per Transfermarkt.
Engels, who assisted the winning goal against Sturm Graz in the clip above, has the potential to thrive as a natural number ten in Carsley’s 4-2-3-1 set-up.
He is also a young player, aged 22, who has time ahead of him to develop and improve, which is the profile of player that the manager has been used to working with throughout his time with England’s U21s.
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Therefore, appointing Carsley, who has shown that he can win trophies with England’s youth team, could help them to turn Engels into their own version of Cole Palmer in the number ten position, because of his attacking potential.