There’s been a fair bit of talk about possible signings in January, but the squad is pretty big right now. Realistically it means some players will need to move on to make some space.
It remains to be seen how the financial boost and increase in status of having European football after Christmas will have on Lenny’s transfer plans. It might be tempting to make a huge signing, but the first team is excellent just now. Upsetting the balance by making a big transfer could backfire.
That means it’s much more likely we might see a couple of younger players come in, possibly as projects to replace some of the current starters as they get older or possibly move on.
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Nir Bitton is a useful player to have in your squad, he can play in defence or midfield and hasn’t put a foot wrong when called upon. It might be the case that he wants a different challenge or to play more regularly, but Lancs live has heavily linked him with a £1m move to Burnley in January.
They go on to suggest that Danny Drinkwater’s loan spell for Chelsea is going to be cut short, so they want to bring in someone to fill his spot. The problem for Bitton is that Drinkwater hasn’t actually played in the league this season, so he wouldn’t be guaranteed to walk straight into the team.
The Israeli has mostly been used as a centre-back this season, so it’s possible that Celtic could benefit from letting him leave and bringing an actual defender in to provide cover. They could even allow someone like Lee O’Connor to have a chance to show he’s first team quality and use Bitton’s wage towards a new striker instead.
It would be sad to see him go, he’s been solid and produced some memorable moments like that strike against Kilmarnock. Despite that, it’s important to keep things fresh and the squad would be able to cope with him moving on.
It would be interesting to see how he fared in the Premier League. He shouldn’t have too much trouble doing a better job than Drinkwater – all he needs to do is actually get on the pitch and not get beaten up for behaving like an entitled brat if he goes on a night out.