Celtic used 36 players in total during their most recent title-winning Premiership season, leaving only two other top-flight teams using more.

Despite that, one man in Ange Postecoglou's squad who didn't end up playing a single minute of league action for the Hoops last season was Christopher Jullien.

While spending the majority of the campaign out through injury, the defender - who was once described as a "monster" by Auxerre academy director Bernard David - only made the substitutes' bench on three occasions in the league since he recovered in January.

To highlight his defensive capabilities, in his 28 Premiership appearances he made throughout the 2019/20 season, the 29-year-old made 27 interceptions and won 26 tackles.

Having already seen a potential summer move to Schalke 04 collapse, things don't look good for the £4.05m-rated Frenchman's future at Parkhead.

With that in mind, should the centre-back eventually find himself leaving Parkhead this summer, one player who has been mentioned with a move to the club and who could be an ideal replacement for Jullien is Joseph Okumu.

After making 41 appearances for Swedish club Elfsborg, the centre-back joined his current employers Gent last summer. Prior to his move to Belgium, the defender was linked with a move to Celtic for a reported fee of £3.4m.

Having made 47 appearances for the Belgian side so far, the Kenyan has chipped in with three goals along the way.

In terms of his defensive talent, in his 27 league games last season, the 25-year-old made 49 interceptions and won 41 tackles, the third highest for each metric in the Gent squad.

This highlights his defensive credentials and illustrates why he'd be a suitable addition to Celtic's squad should Jullien find himself leaving.

In fact, Okumu was hailed as having the potential to become "something special" in the future according to Dan Egner, who also described the centre-back as a "perfect" player.

With Postecoglou now having the perfect opportunity to get rid of Jullien, the 56-year-old's next step should be to do what the club couldn't last year and get Okumu to Glasgow as the Frenchman's potential long-term replacement.

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