Celtic FC Opinion: Why the Hoops should go all out to sign Brandon Mechele

According to a report from the Daily Record, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers wants to sign Celtic star Dedryck Boyata in the summer.

Boyata, 28, is out of contract at Celtic in June and is expected to leave the Scottish giants on a Bosman. Brendan Rodgers quit Celtic to replace Claude Puel at Leicester City in February and wants to reunite with the Belgian defender at the King Power Stadium.

The Belgium international joined Celtic back in 2015 after failing to make the grade at Manchester City. He enjoyed an excellent World Cup campaign with Belgium last summer and had attracted a lot of interest in the summer transfer window, with the Hoops turning down a £9 million offer from Fulham.

Even though Celtic will be keen to hold onto Boyata, chances look very slim for the Belgian centre-half to commit his future at the Parkhead. That makes it very important for Neil Lennon and co to start planning for life after Boyata. To put things into perspective, the Hoops should make a move for Club Brugge defender Brandon Mechele.

A product of the Club Brugge youth system, Brandon Mechele enjoyed his breakthrough in the 2013-14 season. A loan spell at Sint-Truidense helped him grow as a player and since he has returned back to Brugge in 2017, he has been a regular fixture in the team.

The Belgian, 26, has been excellent at the Brugge backline this season and that has seen him get rewarded with a call-up to the Belgium national squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Russia and Cyprus.

Standing at 6ft 3in tall, Mechele is a defensive rock and a mammoth presence in the Belgian outfit. The 26-year-old has a unique set of abilities, ones that make him excellent at his job as a centre-back while also placing him among the best defenders in the league.

A defender with a good positional sense, he is an excellent reader of the game at the back and dominates the opposition with his aerial ability. The Belgian rarely lets the team down and has a decent turn of pace despite possessing such a towering frame.

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Mechele’s gigantic frame makes him an asset defensively as well as at attacking set-pieces at the opposite end of the pitch.

Conclusion  

For Celtic, if they can convince Brugge to sell their asset, they will get a reliable and robust centre-back with European experience to marshal their back line for the better part of the next five to six years. And most importantly, a tailor-made replacement for the potentially outgoing Boyata.