Laxalt, Diego

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Personal

Fullname: Diego Sebastián Laxalt Suárez
aka: Diego Laxalt, Bo Derek (fans nickname due to his hairstyle)
Born: 7 Feb 1993
Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
Signed: 6 Oct 2020 (on loan from AC Milan)
Left: 16 May 2021 (back to AC Milan)
Position: Left-back, Defender
Debut: 2020-10-17: Celtic 0-2 TheRangers, SP
Squad No.: 93
Internationals: Uruguay
International Caps: ? [complete at end of career]
International Goals: ? [complete at end of career]

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Biog

Uruguayan Diego Laxalt arrived at Celtic from AC Milan, whom Celtic had ironically drawn a week previously to play in the Europa League group stages. Celtic had to cut out Bolingoli due to his going rogue when the Covid Lockdown was in force, and Celtic needed competition for the left-back role as young Greg Taylor was the sole player for the position at Celtic.

It was a big season to arrive at Celtic, with the club aiming to make history with ten league titles in a row with a strengthened challenge from Sevco. Laxalt as an experienced international player, on paper at least had an advantage over Taylor who was often unfairly maligned by some.

He was a pacy player, with some skill and the willingness to put a shift in. Not bulky at all, but still able to go in for tackles but attacking was more his prowess than defending it seemed. His reputed price was supposedly around £7m for a full transfer, so a lot to prove, which ultimately he failed to do.

Thrown into his debut match on 17th October 2020 without much (if any) preparation, he had an overall poor match which saw TheRangers win 2-0 at an empty Celtic Park (covid era). His second game was ironically against his parent club AC Milan in the Europa League the next week, which was too much to ask of anyone in an inevitable defeat.

In any case, Celtic were a shambles that season, and collapsed into a heap. The bulk of the blame lies with the manager (Neil Lennon), and no one player alone could have made a difference (possible exception is if Celtic had kept Forster as the goalkeeper). As for Laxalt, he too often flattered to deceive. The entire defence was a shambles. Laxalt seemed to do little to help remedy this. If anything, there was hardly a match in which his performance was of any high note.

Laxalt was humiliatingly subbed at half time after a poor first half performance v Sevco in a 2-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup in April 2021. Taylor came on and did a fair job in his place. For many, it proved everything to this point, and it was the end of the road for Laxalt at Celtic.

There is no doubt that Laxalt could play some great flicks and passes, that is a cliché of many a talented Latin American player, but he couldn’t fit into a system at Celtic (albeit a fractured one at Celtic). If anything, there seemed to be too much missing. It has been a repeated comment that Latin American players often struggle to settle into Scottish football, and Laxalt seemed to little disprove this.

Various statistical analysis showed that despite the valuation and obvious talent, he wasn’t of that great worth to Celtic. Taylor may have been less accomplished skillswise but was greater value on the field overall. Laxalt was an enigma. Clearly had talent but also a bit awkward. The kind of player who seems to not be able to adjust easily to new systems which is a major issue in a more global sporting environment.

His only goal for Celtic came in a 2-2 draw v Hibs in the league in November 2020, a face-saving goal for Celtic with the goal scored by Diego Laxalt in the last minute helping Celtic recover in the final eleven minutes or so having been two nil down till then.

The season was a disaster in any case, in what should have been a classic season as Celtic were heading to break domestic records. Instead, Celtic ended up practically surrendering the title to Sevco for their first top tier title, and Celtic ended the season without any silverware in hand.

On the other hand, Laxalt in a properly coached team with a semblance of tactical awareness could potentially have been a valuable player. Left to his own devices however he often tried too hard and ended up often the poorer for it looking lost in an unorganised unit. With proper management he had a real chance, not something that was available at Celtic this season. Being stuck in a new country where all are in lockdown, didn’t help out either, especially as he was still getting to grips with the English language.

This same season, his namesake Diego Maradona passed on, RIP. The greatest player in football history to many. Diego Laxalt like the rest of us could only dream of that ability. Regardless he was to have to prove his talent somewhere else than Celtic. Big changes were needed for Laxalt in a very topsy-turvy world dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-crisis.

He returned to Milan in the summer of 2021.

We wished him the very best.

Post Celtic
Unsurprisingly on his return he was quickly sold off at a firesale price of around EUR3.5m to Russian side FC Dynamo Moscow, a huge loss and mark down for AC Milan from the EUR14m (+4m addons) they had originally paid for him.

To make matters awkward, six months later Russia invaded Ukraine in what was to become a prolonged conflict. The war meant Russia had serious sanctions imposed on the country. Despite the political environment, he remained at the club for many years but wasn’t to be a regular starter for his new club in his first couple of seasons, mainly attributed to injuries. Finally, settled into the first team as a regular in 2023/24, but due to the political & economic sanctions, his side would not face Celtic or any Western European nation in competition.

[….]

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Quotes

”If we had signed Messi and Ronaldo, Charlie still would have found fault with it. He’s been negative about the club for years. Charlie doesn’t think for me he doesn’t speak for me”
Lennon criticising Charlie Nicholas after signing Laxalt on loan (Oct 2020)

“It doesn’t really matter who the opposition is as my head and heart is now at Celtic and I can’t wait to play and show what I can do.”
Diego Laxalt (2020)

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Playing Career

http://www.celticfc.net/news/18625By: Joe Donnelly on 06 Oct, 2020 13:31Tweet
CELTIC’S final piece of business during the 2020 summer transfer window took the form of Uruguayan internationalist Diego Laxalt, who has joined on a season-long loan from AC Milan.
Laxalt put pen to paper at Paradise yesterday evening (Monday), and Hoops boss Neil Lennon is looking forward to working with the left-sided player, stating he will be available to play against his parent club when the sides meet in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
“I admire him very much,” said the manager “I watched him in the World Cup and thought he had an outstanding competition. He was playing in a very good Uruguayan team with some outstanding players and he looked very comfortable in that company.
“We’ve been tracking him for a very long time – we tried to get him in this time last year, but we couldn’t do it. To get that deal over the line is fantastic business from the board and the club. The player looks really happy to be here, having spoken to him last night. He’ll bring a lot of quality and inspiration to the team.
“As far as I’m aware, he’ll be available in the Europa League group stages and he’ll be available for the Rangers game as well. He’s been training, he’s not played much with Milan so far, but he’s fit and he’s available for the next games.”
Neil Lennon also stressed that while pleased with the club’s incomings during this transfer window, he’s also delighted to keep the squad intact, and reckons the likes of Diego Laxalt’s introduction is good for competition.
“He’s a great defender,” said the Hoops boss. “He’s got great quality on the ball, he’s very tenacious, very fit, and again, he’s got a great desire to make things happen. I like his tenacity more than anything else, he refuses to get beaten or give the ball away, and I just think he’s a quality player who’s playing at a high level.
“It’s a huge season, if you look at the games we’ve got coming up after the international break, they’re absolutely mouth-watering.”

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