Charlie Nicholas has admitted that he got it all wrong when he wrote off Aaron Mooy in the first couple of months of his Celtic career.
After walking away from his contract in China Celtic signed the midfielder in July with the initial impression being that a few appearances would get Mooy in shape for the World Cup Finals in November.
While that turned out to be the case the reality is that four matches in Qatar returned a far sharper player to Celtic in December with Mooy probably the favourite to pick up the SPFL Player of the Month award for January.
Nicholas watched the early Celtic appearances and questioned the wisdom of the Mooy deal but as he explained in the Daily Express the Australian internationalist has forced him to think again.
The Daily Record reports the former Arsenal striker saying:
I have to hold my hands up and admit Aaron Mooy has silenced me and the rest of his critics by becoming a massive player for Celtic. When he arrived last July, I was wondering what Ange Postecoglou had done.
I knew the pair had worked together previously with the Australian national team but Mooy looked a yard off the pace in his first few weeks for the Hoops.
He seemed to slow the play down and I didn’t see how he was going to fit into Postecoglou’s team, which loves to play with speed and moves the ball about constantly.
At that point I wasn’t talking about the 32-year-old midfielder’s fitness, more his game management. I know Mooy hadn’t played for several months before he pitched up at Parkhead, but in a lot of his early games I just couldn’t see what he was going to bring.
He did get fitter and sharper but the real catalyst was the World Cup, where he performed really well for Australia. Mooy has looked a completely different player since coming back from Qatar.
He is completely transformed. He’s been the best player in the country since the restart and has scored five times in the last seven games.
He is now a vital cog in Celtic’s attacking play, a major goal threat and has forged a great partnership with captain Callum McGregor. That is testament to Mooy himself and Postecoglou for putting his trust in him. There is now real competition in the engine room, with Reo Hatate also in there.
Matt O’Riley is a top player and until recently he was one of the first names on the teamsheet. But even he is no longer guaranteed to start in this Celtic side
Mooy was signed on a two year contract, keeping him at Celtic until May 2024.
Great signing and a SOLID player.
I think Charlie must admit that he doesn’t know how to control his mouth.