Celtic are currently preparing to take on their closest rivals in the SFA Cup final at Hampden Park in the final game of the season on Saturday.
The Hoops can sign off from the 2023/24 campaign with a second trophy, completing a domestic double, after they lifted the Scottish Premiership title last weekend.
Brendan Rodgers and his men had secured the trophy with a 5-0 win over Kilmarnock away from home last week before they ran out 3-2 winners against St Mirren on the final day of the league season at Parkhead.
The Northern Irish coach will now be hoping for another impressive performance from his team at Hampden Park when they take on Rangers in the final this weekend.
After that big clash, the focus will then turn to the summer transfer window and there is no hiding from the club’s need to sign a new first-choice goalkeeper.
Joe Hart is due to retire at the age of 37, when his contract expires this summer, and this has left the Scottish giants in need of a number one between the sticks ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Celtic working to sign Austrian star
According to Football Insider, the Hoops are working on a deal to bring Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Patrick Pentz to Parkhead this summer.
The report claims that the Austrian shot-stopper has just one year left on his deal with the German side, who have just completed an unbeaten season in the Bundesliga, and that could provide the Bhoys with a chance to swoop in for his services.
It states that the 27-year-old star has emerged as a ‘strong’ option for the Scottish giants to bring in to bolster their goalkeeping options ahead of next term.
Football Insider adds that signing a new goalkeeper to replace Hart is the primary objective of the upcoming summer transfer window for Rodgers, with Pentz seemingly identified as one of the key targets in that position.
However, it may not be a simple deal to get over the line as Southampton and PSV are also said to be interested in the talented colossus, who just spent the season on loan with Brondby in Denmark.
The Saints are in the Championship play-off final against Southampton on Sunday and could be promoted to the Premier League, which could strengthen their position in negotiations should they still be keen on a move for Pentz.
Should Celtic win the race for his services, though, then the club could land a goalkeeper who is perfect for Rodgers’ style of play moving forward.
Why Patrick Pentz is perfect for Brendan Rodgers
Football Insider’s report claimed that the Leverkusen ace’s ability with the ball at his feet caught the eye of the Hoops boss, who wants his number one to be able to play out from the back.
The article described Pentz as a ‘modern’ goalkeeper and that was on display during his time on loan with Brondby in Denmark this season.
He made 25 appearances in the Superliga and completed 91% of his attempted passes in his own half, without making a single error that directly led to a shot or goal for the opposition.
In fact, you have to go back to the 2020/21 Austrian Bundesliga season, when he was playing for Austria Wien, to find his last error that led to a goal or shot at league level.
| Patrick Pentz’s errors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Appearances | Error led to shot | Error led to goal |
| 2020/21 Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021/22 Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022/23 Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023/24 Superliga | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Stats via Sofascore | |||
As you can see in the table above, the 27-year-old star has not made a single direct error in the last three seasons, and has only made one in the last four campaigns combined.
Whereas, Hart made five errors that led to shots for the opposition and one that led to a goal in his 109 Scottish Premiership appearances in three years at Parkhead.
This suggests that the 37-year-old veteran is far more prone to a mistake when playing out from the back than Pentz, given the greater volume of errors when passing the ball to the opposition over the past three seasons.
Therefore, that, along with the Austrian’s high pass success rate within his own half, suggests that the Leverkusen gem would be perfect for Rodgers and how he wants to build from the back, due to his reliability in possession of the ball.
Why Patrick Pentz would be an upgrade on Joe Hart
Along with his impressive work on the ball, Pentz could also be an upgrade on Hart because of his quality as both a shot-stopper and a goalkeeper who can command his area.
Firstly, the Austrian titan ranked within the top 23% of his positional peers in Ligue 1 last season for percentage of crosses stopped (7.8%), whilst the Englishman ranked within the bottom 22% of Champions League goalkeepers this term at just 1.2%.
This suggests that Pentz, who Leverkusen chief Simon Rolfes claimed last year is “in his prime”, could be far more dominant when it comes to collecting crosses to take pressure off his defence.
| 23/24 season | Joe Hart (Premiership) | Patrick Pentz (Superliga) |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 37 | 25 |
| Sofascore rating | 6.85 | 7.31 |
| Save success rate | 68% | 75% |
| Run-out success rate | 85% | 89% |
| Duel success rate | 77% | 100% |
| Ground duel success rate | 40% | 100% |
| Stats via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, the Brondby loanee also outperformed Hart as a shot-stopper, with a great save success rate, and was flawless in his duels against opposition players, whereas the Hoops star let himself down on that front.
These statistics, along with his aforementioned suitability to the style of play wanted by Rodgers, suggest that the Bhoys target could be a fantastic addition to the squad to replace the former Manchester City titan moving forward.
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