James Browning 
Alex Livesey/Getty Images Sport
Celtic have recently been linked to the signing of Brandon Mechele of Club Brugge, should Virgil van Dijk swap Scotland for England.
The 22-year-old Mechele was in Champions League play-off action against Manchester United on Tuesday night, so we took the liberty of watching his play, to see what he could offer to Ronny Delia if a deal is to go through for the young centre-back. Here is what we found…
Tackling
Mechele’s tackling against United was strong and unhesitant – he did well to dispossess a bullish Memphis Depay on a couple of occasions, as well as thwarting Wayne Rooney and Morgan Schneiderlin on the edge of the box in the second half. He’s a thorough tackler and didn’t hold back in making challenges. 7/10
Pace/Reactions
He showed good acceleration and pace in dealing with United’s attacks, notably when up against Adnan Januzaj, but his reactions were poor. Along with other Brugge players, he was woeful in not reacting to stop Memphis’ first goal as the Dutchman sauntered into the box unchallenged, despite having players almost completely surrounding him. 6/10
Discipline
Absolutely horrific. He got himself wound up in the second half, receiving two yellow cards in 6 minutes. The first was a professional foul on Wayne Rooney which resulted in a free-kick 35 yards out; the second was a reckless challenge on Chicharito. He could barely argue as the ref brandished the red card and he walked off with little complaint; he may have cost his team the tie, as Fellaini’s last-gasp third goal leaves Brugge with a lot of work to do next week. 3/10
Passing/Attacking
Mechele’s short passing was spot on, it can’t be faulted; he didn’t give the ball away and didn’t try anything too risky. He did attempt to launch a couple of balls forward for his attackers to chase but to no avail. Offered very little at set pieces in the United box. 6/10
Conclusion
It’s safe to say that there’s room for improvement for this 22-year-old (as would be expected) – however there are better options in the market and Virgil van Dijk would be even better still – Delia should try to keep him for at least this season, contrary to the latest reports surrounding his future. If a replacement is required or Deila feels the defence needs to be bolstered, I’d suggest Joel Veltman of Ajax or Jannick Vestergaard of Werder Bremen long before I’d go in for Mechele.
Eric Knott 
