Nir Biton

Date of Birth	Nationality	Current Club	Position	Strengths		Weaknesses	Transfer Rumours	Market Value	Similar Players
				Physical	Technical + Mental
30/10/1991	Israel	Celtic	CDM/CM/CAM	Strength, Stamina, Height	Tackling, Passing, Dribbling, Long Shots, Interceptions, Positioning	-	-	-	Yaya Toure

Nir Biton is a 21-year-old Israeli footballer who currently plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. Before his move to Celtic this summer, Biton used to play for FC Ashdod in the Israeli Premier League. He made his debut there at the age of 17 and cemented his place in the starting line up ever since. During his time at the Israeli club, Biton played in the Centre of Midfield and was used in a more attacking capacity, giving him a license to run forwards into attack and create and score chances. A player who has extremely good stamina, Biton enjoys darting forward from midfield and never shy of taking a long range shot on goal, which he is very capable of doing and scoring. Biton recently moved to Celtic over the summer with the hope of replacing Victor Wanyama who moved to Southampton. However, before his move to Scotland, he was a two time trialist with Manchester City and can be seen playing in friendly matches with Yaya Toure next to him in midfield. When people look at Biton they would probably see a lanky Peter Crouch type striker or maybe a goalkeeper due to his height. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, Biton is most definitely tall. However, this does not take away anything from his technical abilities. The reason I have likened him to Yaya Toure is nothing to do with his height, but it is more to do with his style of play. Biton has an extremely great ability to drive at opponents with the ball at his feet and more often than not, easily going past them while continuously charging forwards towards the goal. His dribbling ability is similar to Yaya’s. Both players have extremely long legs, and sometimes that can be seen as a disadvantage when dribbling. However, Biton has a great ability to keep the ball with him in close spaces, and when it comes to beating a man his long legs help him charge forward without losing the ball. Another reason I have made the comparison is due to his ability to have a go at goal from distance, another aspect that Yaya Toure is exceptionally good at doing. However, saying that, Biton doesn't come close to Yaya with experience and physical presence, therefore it would be pre-mature to call him “The next Yaya” or “The Israeli Yaya” just yet. With further training, bulking up and a better aerial presence, Biton may very well rise to become a great player for the future.

He has been capped on a national level for the Israeli senior team and captained the U-21 team in the Euro’s this summer where he was commanding against England and Norway. So far, I have described Biton as a more attacking minded central midfielder, but he is more than that. The role that describes him best would be “Box-Box Midfielder”. Watching Biton I have noticed that he does not always tend to attack, he involves himself in all 3 phases of the midfield. The first phase would be as a Defensive Midfielder. Here he falls between the two Center Backs to receive the ball and begin his sides attacking plays allowing the Full Backs to push forward and contribute to attacks. One of the key attributes he displays here is his great ability to pass both long and short. If I had the statistics for Biton they would probably show that his pass success going forwards and creating attacking plays is extremely high. He is not afraid to give long balls to teammates, and more often than not finds a player with precision accuracy.  Another ability he has in his locker is his tackling. There are many defensive midfielders that go and look for a tackle further up the pitch and risk being taken out of the equation by being dribbled past. Biton is not one of them. His positioning is fantastic and always seems to know where to be and when to be there. With his great positioning it allows him to patiently wait for the attacker to come towards him and then execute a great tackle. What I have noticed with Biton is more than his ability to tackle; it is his ability to tackle without going to ground. Rarely have I seen Biton go down and slide for the ball, however, when he does he almost always gets the ball in the challenge. His ability to stay on his feet while challenging is remarkable and it also helps him and his team when it comes to transitioning from defence to attack. Another aspect would be his strength. He may not seem strong upon first look; however he does use his big frame to help him in 50-50 situations. However, although in the Israeli league he may have not required extreme strength, he may require it more playing in Europe. Therefore it would probably be one aspect I think he will look to improve. The second phase that he contributes to would be as a Central Midfielder. Here he does not involve himself in the more defensive duties of a CDM or the attack play-making of a CAM. Here is where his fantastic positioning comes into effect. Being extremely tall, having long legs and being able to read the game very well allows Biton to position himself perfectly in the midfield without having to revert to defensive duties. Through his positioning he is able to get himself in the way of several opposition passes and intercept them. Being further forward then allows him to quickly start an attacking play for his own team. This can be seen through the several 1-2s he plays with his team mates or even a long ball forward for the attackers. The third phase would be that of an Attacking Midfielder. Here he contributes more to attacking plays, often providing width to team mates by running outside them, or mostly staying central and playing 1-2s before having a shot at goal. He plays with great composure therefore it is not surprising to see him make great passes or take such stunning shots on goal. He is a big threat in the box as well. When in attack Biton is always looking to get the ball and score whether it is outside or inside the box. Due to his great composure it is not surprising that Biton always likes to have possession of the ball whether he is surging forward or creating plays. He has shown these great leadership qualities at such a young age, and I am certain he will be a player that makes headlines in the future.

Celtic have got a real gem to replace Wanyama. Given time to settle down and develop, I am certain that the Celtic fans will be chanting his name in heroic fashion. 

His Under 21 performance vs England: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11h208_nir-biton-vc-england_sport