Whilst it would be unfair to say the signing of centre back Moritz Jenz on loan from Ligue 1 side Lorient was met with indifference, it certainly didn’t generate the buzz of the Carter-Vickers or Jota recruitments.
Maybe the “loan” element is a factor The reality is Celtic have spent nearly £20m on incomings with little generated from players sold. It is unlikely there will be further significant purchases without some being moved on and fees recouped.
The signing fills an obvious gap. With Starfelt long-term injured and Jullien looking to leave, Celtic are down to Carter-Vickers, Welsh then the untried Lawal. Therefore, with the serious action just over a week away, bodies were needed in this area.
The “loan to buy” market is also a smart one for Celtic who are always limited in their transfer dealings in terms of hard cash given the limited funds generated from Scottish football. Celtic can assess his fit in terms of personality, style of play without committing to buy. If they like what they see, then it becomes a relatively low risk outlay providing the deal is right.
Jenz in 21/22
Ligue 1 is clearly a high standard but Jenz had a difficult season at Lorient following his move from Lausanne Sport. He started there as first choice centre back and played 7 of the first 8 league fixtures.
A thigh problem then intervened and he missed 5 matches. He then played 90 minutes in the next 6 games before losing his place and making only 4 more appearances over the season.
So, how to assess what Celtic have in the 23-year-old German?
For an excellent summary of the young German’s strengths and weaknesses I strongly recommend this piece with a Swiss scout who knows Jen well on 67 Hail Hail.
Benchmarking
Listeners to the Huddle Breakdown (please subscribe) will constantly hear us talk about benchmarking. Coming up with some data that allows a comparison to assess what “good” looks like.
It so happens there are striking similarities between Jenz’s situation and that of the last French centre back recruited from Ligue 1, Christopher Jullien.
In 18/19, Jullien’s Toulouse finished 16th with 36 points, conceding 57 goals and -22 goal difference.
In 21/22, Jenz’s Lorient finished 16th with 36 points, conceding 63 goals and -28 goal difference.
We know how Jullien turned out, so is this a useful benchmark?
Jenz vs Jullien
If you listen to the Hail Hail 67 piece linked above the summary of Jenz’s strengths and weaknesses are:
Strengths:
- Strong in the air;
- Good range of passing;
- Composed on the ball;
- Good concentration;
- A very well-rounded man with strong leadership traits.
Weaknesses:
- Lacks real pace;
- Exposed on the turn.
That sounds a lot like Jullien to me!
Let’s compare their data from the two seasons mentioned.
Appearances
Jullien was more experienced and integral at Toulouse as the young German lost his place over the season at Lorient.
Defending
Jenz seems less involved in duels, but had less clearances than the Frenchman.
Jullien is vey aerially dominant (when he signed I wrote about that here). Whilst Jenz looks a little safer in possession, Jullien was more of a duel winning monster.
Encouragingly, his error rate was much lower than Jullien’s, but he was dribbled past more as alluded to in the weaknesses above.
Both players are not averse to a card. Welcome to Scotland, Moritz!
Heatmaps
Here are the relative heatmaps from the two seasons:
Jenz 21/22
Jullien 18/19
Jenz played predominantly off the left centre for Lorient and was happy to make forays over the half way line. He also covered the right side on occasion. He is also drawn wide more often than Jullien. Some of this may be due to team shape and style.
Jullien’s is quite similar but seems denser in the right centre back position with less forays into enemy territory. But more opposition box touches!
Passing
Arguably more important in domestic football, especially with Postecoglou’s sides hogging the ball.
This is where the similarities start to be such that you suspect someone has been scouting using data!
These are incredibly similar passing capabilities and we know from watching Jullien for 1.5 seasons he has a surprisingly potent range of passing. This is important for Celtic, especially with quick breaking forwards.
Attacking
Neither player is going to replicate Ajer’s brining the ball out with feet.
In struggling sides in the benchmarked seasons, neither did too much in front of goal with 1 each and 0.1 per game. But we know that in a dominant side, Jullien was extremely dangerous in both boxes.
Summary
I was probably like many in that the Jenz signing left me a bit meh.
Watching the Hail Hail 67 feature convinces me that once again Postecoglou has recruited a good man and a strong leader with impeccable professional ethics and work rate.
The data comparing Jullien and his last Ligue 1 seasons for very similar sides shows that it is very much the Jullien mould that Celtic have scouted for. They profile very similarly.
That is not to say Jenz will be as good as Jullien – he is much younger.
However, the recruitment makes sense in terms of supplementing the squad with coherent skills.
Welcome to Celtic, Moritz.
This article was written using data from SofaScore and Transfermarkt.
Jim says
This sounds like another prospect signing, what Jenz can bring to the table remains to be seen.
As for Christopher Jullien? He had a first good Season with us, popping up with a important goal
here & there. However his weakness as time went bye, was lack of concentration, & easily being
mugged off the ball, & then he had that bad injury during scamdown, which put him out of the
equation for over a year. & when he came back, his body language has not interested written
all over it. Also, what’s the script with young Shaw. He played well in the 1st Friendly, then was
faded out of the playing squad. He looked sharp @ the Family Day Out Training Day, what a
scorching day, I got sun burnt ouch that 29C day, that is the hottest Summer day, since away
back in the Indian Summer of 1976, when there was a Water Drout, & the weather was in
scorching mode for a few weeks. Also what’s the script with Albian Ajeti? We need to try &
off load him one way or another. & Also, I would like to see us get more useful backup, in central
defence, especially for the big match days & nights, anway lets all hope we even have a better
Season than last, COYBIG Everyone.
celticbynumbers@btinternet.com says
Shaw will not make it here. Bookmark if you like. Touch, technique etc nowhere near it
Andy says
“Lacks real pace; Exposed on the turn.” Assumed this was why Julien wasn’t favoured as it doesn’t suit a team playing a high line, so signing a replacement with the same weaknesses is puzzling. Presumably, Julien has other issues – attitude? Surely an explanation is required as to why he had zero minutes in the league despite being fit since January.
celticbynumbers@btinternet.com says
I don’t think Ange is complicated
He says he only wants players 100 % committed to being there
Pan says
My bet is that Moritz Jenz will turn out to be a gem of a signing.
The boss looks at the quality of the person as well as the quality of the footballer and then works on the strengths and develops the player accordingly.
I fully trust Mr Postecoglou’s imprint on the club.
There are further changes yet to be made and also some more people to leave, but Moritz will be with us long term, I believe, and he will be successful.
Jim says
Thanks for the response there, celticbynumbers.
My mistake, I don’t mean Shaw, I forgot the young chap’s name, this is what happens when you get older in life, sometimes your memory goes oh holiday. I’m referring to the striker they signed from Shamrock Rovers I think. Anyway, he scored two goals in the Bhoy’s 1st friendly fixture this Season, & also looked sharp in front of the goal frame on the Bhoys Training Day last Monday. (18/7/22) That’s who I’m referring too, & what’s the script with said young player? Also as mentioned, we still need to off load some dead wood, & look @ bringing in another solid central defender that’s for sure.
Iain in Alberta says
Jonny Kenny is the young Irish forward.
Duncan says
I like to judge players using my own eyes.
He looked fairly comfortable and relaxed with crisp passing ability ,well timed and solid in the tackle plus at 6’2” adds some much needed height at the back.
Whether he will be a success or failure remains to be seen.
Time will tell on that score.
The basic ingredients are obviously there and hence why he’s now at Celtic.