SEBASTIAN TOUNEKTI could get the opportunity to showcase his talents when Celtic take on St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this evening.
The winger, bought from Swedish club Hammarby IF for £5.2million a year ago, is a frustrating mix of the wonderful and the woeful, the awesome and the awful.
In full flow, the wide Bhoy is easy on the eye and has proved he can deliver a spectacular goal or two with memorable efforts such as the extra-time winner in the Scottish Cup confrontation against Dundee at Parkhead in February.
PICK IT OUT…Sebastian Tounekti whips in Celtic’s third goal in the 4-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice to set up Sunday’s Premier Sports League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.
Tounekti took centre stage again a week later with the long-range drive that sparked the champions’ spirited revival in the dramatic 3-2 success against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park to claim three vital points after trailing 2-0 at the interval.
And there was a flash of the twinkle-toed Tunisian last month when he finished off a mesmerising run with the Hoops’ third goal in the 4-0 Premier Sports League Cup victory over Dundee United at Tannadice last month.
Unfortunately, glimpses of such pulverising talent have been few and far between.
However, the 24-year-old flanker may be afforded the chance to flourish in the absence of Yang Hyun-jun, who will miss the next four games while on international duty with South Korea at the Asian Games in Japan.
Martin O’Neill is in no doubt Tounekti can rise to the challenge and said: “Seb’s good, he’s got really good ability around the edge of the penalty box. The thing I like about him is that he can go both ways.
“Sometimes there’s a bit of frustration, but there’ll always be a bit of frustration with wide players who might lose the ball once or twice. The most important thing to tell wide players is if they can go past people, just keep doing it.
“That’s an easy comment for a manager to make, but it’s different when you’ve lost the ball two times in the trot, the crowd then start to get really anxious and you think: ‘Well, the next time I think I’ll just lay it off.’
THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD…Sebastian Tounekti celebrates his wonder strike to spark Celtic’s revival in the 3-2 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in February.
“I don’t want that, I want to still encourage people to go past opponents. And when he comes inside he can do that. When he’s in and around the edge of the box, he can actually check outside and put it across.”
O’Neill, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “So it’s a matter of keep encouraging him. He has probably seen that Yang has done exceptionally well and also does great work for us when we don’t have the ball.
“Those are the things that I think Seb can pick up on and learn. Can he emulate Yang? That should be his aim.
“Seb has natural talent. It’s the other parts of the game that I think he’s got to have a wider picture, but hopefully that will come.”
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