Could we see a player from the Isuzu UTE A-League join Tom Rogic at Celtic? Ange Postecoglou said he is “always watching” Australia’s premier men’s competition as he scours the globe for talent.
Postecoglou has rejuvenated Celtic after they were dethroned by bitter rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership last season, coming in and transforming the way the Hoops play.
Celtic are one point clear atop the table and already have the Scottish League Cup in the bag, and that has a lot to do with Postecoglou’s success in the transfer market.
Japan has been in the spotlight after former Yokohama F.Marinos boss Postecoglou raided the J1 League to sign Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, while he also turned to Israel, Poland, Russia and Belgium for recruits.
Postecoglou did come close to bringing Australia international Riley McGree to Celtic before the Socceroo opted to join Championship outfit Middlesbrough.
The ex-Brisbane Roar head coach was asked about scouting the A-Leagues and Australian players potentially moving to Parkhead after Cam Devlin and Nathaniel Atkinson were both plucked from the league by Hearts.
“Obviously because of a vested interest, I’m always watching the A-League anyway,” Postecoglou told Stan Sport, with former assistant Arthur Papas in charge of Newcastle Jets.
“There’s a lot of guys who I know and worked with, who are coaching in the A-League. I follow their progress closely. A lot of people I keep in touch with over there. I follow the A-League.
“In terms of scouting. Maybe because I come from a place like Australia where we’ve had to be fairly clever and have some ingenuity around in the way we look at the game. I look everywhere.
“I don’t call it just one market. Here they tend to be focused on certain markets. I know talent can be found anywhere in the world, including Australia. Asian football is something I have great knowledge on and I’m very fond of, not just Japanese football but other parts of the region. In terms of our scouting, we look everywhere.
“Obviously with Australian players, I have better knowledge and good information networks there. It’s not about me trying to give opportunities just for the sake of it. It has to be the right fit for the player to come over here and be successful.
“The lads who have already come over here are doing really well at Hearts. It’s great to see them developing their football. Always keeping an eye.”
