What Celtic boss wants from Sebastian Tounekti

With Yang Hyun-jun away representing South Korea at the Asian Games, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill faces the task of finding a suitable replacement for one of the club’s most improved performers.

Celtic travel to Perth tonight to face St Johnstone, with the starting XI expected to reveal how O’Neill intends to compensate for Yang’s absence.

The manager has previously spoken about altering his formation to accommodate Celtic’s attacking options. After struggling for depth in forward areas last season, the champions now have plenty of attacking talent available, creating a different problem for O’Neill — finding a way to give everyone sufficient playing time.

One straightforward solution would be to bring Sebastian Tounekti into the team as a direct replacement for Yang. Another possibility is a return to the 3-5-2 system O’Neill used during the closing stages of the title-clinching clash with Hearts in May.

A switch to that formation would allow Celtic to start with two strikers. O’Neill would then have to choose between Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran and Shim Mheuka.

Hogh could return after recovering from the injury he suffered in Linz, while Duran would appear the obvious choice given his outstanding recent form. Mheuka is another possibility after the Chelsea loanee came close to scoring his first Celtic goal against St Mirren at the weekend.

Given the demanding run of fixtures before the next international break, O’Neill may decide to rotate his forwards. Duran could potentially be rested, while Hogh could start on the bench and be introduced later.

Whatever formation Celtic use, the manager now has considerably more options than he had during his first season at the club.

The most obvious alternative remains a direct swap, with Tounekti stepping in for Yang and getting another opportunity to demonstrate that he can become an important player for Celtic.

There remains some uncertainty among supporters over the Tunisian winger, particularly regarding his lack of consistent end product. His missed opportunity against St Mirren on Saturday only increased the frustration surrounding his performances.

O’Neill, however, appears keen to encourage rather than restrict Tounekti’s natural attacking instincts.

“Seb’s good. He’s got really good ability around the edge of the penalty box,” the Celtic boss said. He also highlighted the winger’s ability to attack defenders on either side.

O’Neill acknowledged that wide players will inevitably lose possession when attempting to take opponents on, but insisted that Tounekti should not allow criticism or frustration to change his approach.

His message to the winger is simple: if he has the ability to beat his man, he should continue trying to do so.

The Celtic manager also recognises that confidence can be affected when a player repeatedly loses possession and hears the crowd become increasingly nervous. That can encourage attackers to choose the safer option rather than taking responsibility and trying to create something.

O’Neill does not want Tounekti to fall into that trap.

Instead, he wants the winger to continue attacking defenders and making use of his ability to cut inside. Tounekti has already shown that threat, including when he scored against Kilmarnock.

The manager also believes there are other aspects of Yang’s game that Tounekti can learn from. While Yang has developed into a major attacking contributor, his work when Celtic do not have possession has also impressed O’Neill.

That is an area where the Celtic boss believes Tounekti can improve as he develops a more complete understanding of his responsibilities.

O’Neill remains convinced that the 23-year-old possesses natural ability but believes he needs to broaden his overall game.

Whether Tounekti gets the opportunity to start in Perth remains to be seen. If he does receive the nod, however, the winger will have a clear instruction from his manager: continue taking defenders on and, crucially, start adding the end product that has too often been missing from his Celtic performances.