Celtic have confirmed their 25-man squad for the UEFA Europa League league phase, with seven players who arrived during the summer transfer window included in the group. Martin O’Neill’s side begin the campaign at home to Hungarian side Ferencváros at Celtic Park on Thursday, September 17, according to Celtic’s official statement.
The squad announcement sets out the players available to Celtic for the league phase and confirms the place of several recent arrivals alongside established members of the first-team group.
New Faces Given Their Chance
Camilo Duran, Mika Baur, Haissem Hassan and Kasper Høgh are included, along with three of the club’s latest signings: Oliver Sørensen, Jordan Lotomba and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. The seven summer arrivals are all part of Celtic’s Europa League squad for the league phase.
The remainder of the 25-man group includes Viljami Sinisalo, Alistair Johnston, Liam Scales, Auston Trusty, Benjamin Nygren, Hyunjun Yang, Luke McCowan, Sebastian Tounekti, Callum Osmand, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Doohan, Callum McGregor, Dane Murray, James Forrest, Colby Donovan, Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney.
The confirmed list provides O’Neill with options across the pitch as Celtic prepare for their European fixtures.
O’Neill’s Priorities Are Clear
O’Neill said the process of selecting the Europa League squad involved difficult decisions. He identified domestic football as the club’s most important priority at this stage.
The manager also said Celtic were disappointed about the Champions League, while describing the Europa League as a strong competition in which the club want to perform as well as possible. He added that the players signed by Celtic should initially make their mark in domestic football.
O’Neill indicated that the club could potentially make changes in February if Celtic remain in contention. The current list, therefore, is the squad registered for the league phase rather than a guarantee of what may be available later in the competition.
Ferencváros First Up
Celtic’s league-phase campaign begins with the home match against Ferencváros on September 17. The fixture will be the first European test for the registered group.
A four-match Europa League package is on sale to season-ticket holders, as confirmed by the club. Celtic have now named the players who will be available for the opening stage of their Europa League campaign.
Mon The Hoops.
