The Hoops boss brought in Nicolas Kuhn on a permanent move from Rapid Wien and Ireland international Adam Idah on loan from Norwich City until the season of the season.
Additionally, he permitted several players—including Mikey Johnston, who has six goals and one assist in seven starts for West Brom—to go out on loan in order to play regularly with the first team. These players include Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Marco Tilio, Alexandro Bernabei, and Mikey Johnston.
The Northern Irish head coach will be hopeful that they all return to Parkhead as better players who can contend for a spot within his side for the 2024/25 campaign.
In light of this, one player has excelled for his temporary team while on loan, having been shipped there last summer to play regular football away from Glasgow for the full season.
Bosun Lawal was moved to League One club Fleetwood Town in England and his outstanding performances this term suggest that the potential is there for him to develop as Rodgers’ new Wilfred Ndidi, and as an upgrade on Tomoki Iwata.
Wilfred Ndidi’s defensive wizardry for Rodgers
The Nigeria international made 138 appearances for the Northern Irish boss during their time together with Leicester City down south, and only six Foxes players played more times under him.
Ndidi generally functioned at the base of the midfield as a defensive anchor in front of the back four, as he showcased his ability to win duels and cut out opponent attacks at an amazing and efficient rate.
The 27-year-old titan was also deployed as a centre-back at times under Rodgers, which testifies to both his defensive quality and his outstanding versatility.
During their last complete Premier League season together, Ndidi made 19 league appearances and caught the eye with 7.1 duels won per game, including 2.2 aerial battles per match, during the 2021/22 campaign.
He won 54% of his physical contests in total, and won possession back 0.6 times per outing, which shows that he came out on top more often than not against opposition players.
The Nigerian ace also ranked within the top 3% of Premier League midfielders for tackles won (3.34) per 90, and the top 2% for clearances (3.0) per 90, as the Foxes giant was one of the most active defenders in his position within the division.
Ndidi only completed 80% of his attempted passes that term with 0.1 critical passes per game and zero assists to his name, which demonstrates that the Leicester star did not provide too much on the ball.
Why Bosun Lawal could be Rodgers’ next Wilfred Ndidi
HOPES UP: Rodgers has Celtic of their defense after joining Celtic from Watford as a center-back. However, he has since developed into a defensive or central midfielder.
Similar to Ndidi, the 20-year-old sensation possesses the ability to play at the base of the midfield to shield the backline or drop into the backline to start as a central defender.
Throughout his 35 League One appearances so far this season for Fleetwood, he has demonstrated his outstanding defensive abilities at both positions.
Lawal has prevailed in 62% of his total physical fights, winning 6.0 duels per game, including 2.7 aerial fights per match. This shows that he is a dominant force in the middle of the park who is strong in the air – with a success rate of 75% in aerial duels – just like Ndidi.
The Fleetwood star, who is on loan from Celtic, has only won 1.8 tackles per game, so he has a ways to go before he can call himself a better tackler. Nonetheless, he has made an astounding 3.1 clearances per game, matching the Leicester star’s performances from the 2021–2022 season under Rodgers.
These numbers imply that both players perform similarly when not in possession. They both strive to win a lot of duels, dominate the air, and make a lot of clearances by being in the right place at the right time to stop the opposition from launching dangerous attacks.
Lawal has, however, offered quality on the ball with four goals, five ‘big chances’ created, and 0.5 key passes per game for his side, which suggests that the Ireland U21 international could offer more in possession than Ndidi did for the manager at the King Power.
Why Bosun Lawal might be an improvement over Tomoki Iwata
Iwata has emerged as a first-team regular for the Hoops this year and has played at the base of the Hoops midfield, with the likes of Callum McGregor, Paulo Bernardo, and Matt O’Riley playing either side of him at times.
The Japanese maestro has caught the eye with a pass accuracy of 92% across his 11 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, which shows that he rarely gives the ball away when attempting to find a teammate, but has left a bit to be desired with his defensive work.
He has lost 56% of his duels in the division so far this season, and has only won 1.6 battles per game. This suggests that opposition players have found it too easy to get the better of him at times, whilst the 26-year-old gem is also not putting himself about the park enough to compete in many duels.
23/24 season
Bosun Lawal – League One
Tomoki Iwata – Premiership
Appearances
35
11
Big chances created
5
1
Goals
4
1
Key passes per game
0.5
0.6
each game’s tackle total
1.8
0.7
Every game, interceptions
0.7
0.4
Ground duel success rate
55%
38%
Aerial duel success rate
75%
67%
Stats courtesy Sofascore
As you can see in the figure above, Lawal, who has been dubbed a “powerhouse” by analyst @HCfootball01 on X, has greatly outscored Iwata in a range of crucial defensive categories, yet also offering more at the top end of the game.
The Fleetwood titan could dominate rival strikers in a way that the present Celtic regular has not been able to, because to his outstanding success record in physical duels – notably in the air – to prevent opponents from exposing the Hoops defence.
You could point to the fact that the 20-year-old gem is playing in League One but Matt O’Riley was signed directly from that league with MK Dons and has racked up 19 goals and 31 assists in 111 games for the club to date, which suggests that players can make the jump from the third tier in England to the Premiership.
Lawal, who also has plenty of time to develop and improve at the age of 20, is more combative and successful as a defender in the middle of the pitch in contrast to Iwata, which is why he might emerge as an upgrade on the Japanese midfielder and become Ndidi 2.0 for Rodgers at Parkhead.
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