Soufiane El-Faouzi: Celtic's 'extraordinary' €13m Callum McGregor replacement

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Celtic are one of several clubs interested in signing Soufiane El-Faouzi after his "extraordinary" season for Schalke 04.

The third-biggest club in Germany has finally returned to the big time. After battling against relegation to the 3. Liga in recent seasons, Schalke 04 have now won the 2. Bundesliga at a canter, thanks to the brilliant coaching of Miron Muslic and excellent squad-building.

It has been an incredible turnaround in the space of just one season, and there have been storylines aplenty. In January, Schalke signed Edin Dzeko to get them over the line, and his impact - on and off the pitch - has been remarkable.

However, there are many other players who deserve plaudits, too. One of them is El-Faouzi, who was virtually unknown when he was plucked from third-tier Alemannia Aachen for just €200,000 last summer.

Schalke needed a midfielder and came across the 23-year-old when scouring their in-house scouting database for outliers. El-Faouzi immediately jumped out. At Aachen, he was one of the best tacklers in the 3. Liga and consistently posting some of the best physical metrics in all of Germany.

Celtic want El-Faouzi

After joining the Gelsenkirchen club, El-Faouzi immediately established himself as a crucial cog in Muslic's midfield. A box-to-box player, the German covers ground like nobody's business. He will run all over the pitch, though he primarily likes to feature on the right of a central midfield pairing.

This season, he has notched two goals and produced five assists. However, attacking actually isn't his strong suit. El-Faouzi can still improve his offensive play, and he generally prefers to position himself outside the box rather than crashing it.

His main selling point is his strong defensive work. He loves to get stuck in and harry his opponents, but he is not a destroyer in the typical sense. He is much more agile and energetic going forward than a traditional holding midfielder, and he can beat a player on the dribble.

El-Faouzi is among the best midfielders in the 2. Bundesliga this season, according to data analytics firm SciSports, ranking strongly in numerous defensive metrics but also some attacking ones, such as dribbling, offensive positioning and even crossing.

Unsurprisingly, then, clubs are starting to take note. Sky Germany reports that Brentford, Celtic and Sunderland have taken a liking to the 23-year-old. Some suitors are said to be ready to pay up to €13 million for him.

Such a fee would represent an enormous profit for Schalke, and it could be necessary given that they spent big in January because they were under the assumption that Moussa Sylla would be sold for big money. This never materialised, so the club will have to make a sale or two.

Despite this, Schalke are adamant that they want to keep El-Faouzi and the player is said to be open to staying. He is not averse to the idea of playing for them in the Bundesliga.

Still, playing in the Premier League or in Europe with Celtic will hold a strong appeal. The latter, in particular, could use a strong midfield reinforcement amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding captain Callum McGregor.

€13m would represent a massive outlay for the Hoops, though. It would make him the club's joint-second-most expensive signing, on par with Arne Engels. The latter already had Bundesliga experience under his belt when he made the move to Parkhead.

Engels is also the subject of strong interest, and he could potentially fetch €30m or more. With that money available, signing El-Faouzi to replace him or McGregor seems like a no-brainer.

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