Celtic’s transfer market has become somewhat quiet, and Brendan Rodgers even hinted that there might not be any further arrivals.
So far this month, the Hoops have added Rapid Vienna’s Nicolas Kuhn as a winger, despite the manager’s insistence that he required four quality players to improve his squad—several of whom are away at the Asian Cup on international duty. The Northern Irishman stated yesterday that he would feel at ease carrying on with the players he has available with less than a week to go.
This has caused Stephen McGinn to wonder why he made such a drastic turnabout. He stated: “If Brendan Rodgers had said what he’d said in this week’s interview back in November, which was ‘we’ll only add in January if the quality is available’.”The club has previously employed that line. Bad performances and outcomes were constantly justified by claiming that quality would be added to the market.
That about sums up the message. Even the victory against St Johnstone and the draw against Motherwell at home sent a message. He was being questioned about quality because it was occurring frequently, but the response was always, “Just be patient, we’ll improve.”
When January arrives, the manager’s message suddenly changes. At that point, the fans lose patience, claiming, “You told us two months ago that we need to add quality or else the results [will suffer].” They risk losing the league if those similar outcomes repeat.
“So what has altered? Has the manager been informed that he could increase quality only to be informed that he cannot? What has altered? The reason Celtics supporters are so
Liam Scales is having a fantastic season at center back; can’t be the Celtic left-back. Will he be asked to cover?
“What would happen if Kyogo is injured or suspended and Oh and Maeda both make it to the Asian Cup final? They’re getting irritated since the squad doesn’t have a recognized first-team striker.”
Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Sydney van Hooijdonk is free to leave Bologna this month. The Dutch striker has been linked with the Scottish Champions in recent months and now a pathway to sign the player has opened up.
Van Hooijdonk is the son of former Celtic striker Pierre, who said a regret in his career was leaving Celtic when he did. Maybe Sydney’s old man can put in a word and help bring the powerful striker to Paradise.
It would potentially fit Celtic’s model of loan-to-buy players in the +£5m bracket, with CCV, Jota and currently Bernardo all having been signed on this basis.
Celtic are in the market for a left back and a centre forward with Brendan Rodgers keen to strengthen these positions. The club are now pushing hard for a full back with the news that Greg Taylor is out of a couple of weeks with a calf strain.
Supporting the Celtic Academy
Since we started the site, The Celtic Star has always supported Celtic Pools in order to provide funds to the Celtic Academy to produce the Celtic Stars of the future. And so many Celtic Star readers have signed up with multiple winners of some big prizes coming through via the Weekly Lottery which costs just £1 a week. It’s easy to join and help The Celtic Star help the Celtic Academy, just click on the image below…
Leave a Reply