FROM Tallin to Cluj, Motherwell to Stockholm, Celtic’s summer has been turbulent and tasking. We have witnessed a turnover of dramatic proportions, yet Celtic’s victory at Ibrox on Sunday and new signings have Celtic going into the International Break on an incredible high after the despair of the self inflicted disaster against Cluj that cost us a place in the Champions League.

So that now the dust has settled from the transfer window being slammed shut, we can this morning take stock and reflect on what has been a busy and eventful window for Celtic. As a club, Celtic were in a difficult position following what was another successful season last year, the manager and the board knew that they had to get it right as scrutiny over the appointment of Neil Lennon and Nick Hammond remained.

Exit from the Champions League at home to Cluj and a lacklustre response at home to Dunfermline in the League Cup left the team, management and board at the mercy of critics. Supporters felt that the club were allowing their Glasgow rivals to make ground due to the speed of their business, media support and general confidence emanating from the Ibrox outfit.

However, the fallout of Cluj were banished from the minds of the Celtic support as Odsonne Edouard slid the ball under Allan McGregor before Jonny Hayes concluded a professional and comprehensive win over Steven Gerrard’s side.

Firstly, I must admit to being a cynic of the way Celtic is run at times: the timing of Neil Lennon’s appointment in May, Kieran Tierney’s sale mid-game in Cluj caused some eyebrows to be raised, especially as Celtic appeared to dither in regards to recruitment ahead of the return leg. Remarkable team selection, clueless defending and shoddy goalkeeping saw Celtic lose, as we all remember, and questions began to be asked of the entire club.

On Sunday, I was ecstatic as Neil Lennon showed me why I was wrong about his appointment, a mature and intelligent execution of a game plan in a hostile environment proved him to be worth his weight in gold. New signings performing excellently, Scott Brown proving the doubters wrong once again, Mikey Johnston banishing his Ibrox blues from last season and Celtic winning in such an emphatic style. I was in the Celtic end in May, and what the 800 that made the journey to Govan saw was miles apart from what I witnessed at Ibrox in that 2-0 defeat.

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Management

The obvious departure last year was that of Brendan Rodgers in February along with his backroom team. With Celtic reeling, Neil Lennon stood in the breach and led the Celts to a historic Treble Treble. It was evident that the summer approaching would be massive for the club.

This summer we replaced Rodgers, Chris Davies, Kolo Toure and Glen Driscoll with Neil Lennon, John Kennedy and Damien Duff.

Goalkeepers

In the goalkeeper department, we saw Dorus De Vries depart the club as he hung up his gloves and went off to pursue his coaching career. Neil Lennon opted to go for Scott Bain – despite apparent reservations in his preferred style of play. After Cluj and Motherwell highlighted frailties in Scott Bain’s shot-stopping, the door appeared open for Craig Gordon to reclaim the Number One shirt. However, Neil Lennon sent for his own ‘keeper in colossus Fraser Forster. Despite being a loanee, Forster offers a significant improvement on De Vries and has been implemented already as Neil Lennon’s number one. Forster himself has spoken of his eagerness to impress and earn a permanent return to Glasgow.

In the youth department, the promising Tobi Oluwayemi joined the club from Tottenham.

Left Backs

In the left back region, Celtic lost two fan favourites. Kieran Tierney left to pastures new with Arsenal in a painful transfer for Celtic fans to take as the club pocketed a record sum of £25 million. The brilliant Tierney, who was endeared to the support, made his desires to head South clear. Prior to KT leaving, Boli Bolingoli was confirmed for £3 million from Rapid Vienna. Despite a shaky beginning to his Celtic career, Bolingoli powered through the abuse directed towards him and stood up at Ibrox on Sunday.

Emilio Izaguirre left Celtic after his second spell below the radar. It was expected after Izzy’s level of performance struggled to impress whilst deputising for Kieran Tierney and the sidelines didn’t suit him much either. He remains a fine Celtic servant and will always be warmly welcomed back on return visits to Paradise.

Greg Taylor was identified as a replacement for Kieran Tierney, along with Meling of Rosenborg; however it was evident that the Champions were after the Scotland Internationalist. The 21-year-old completed his move to Celtic on deadline day for a fee in the region of £2 million. With over 150 appearances in the league, a player that knows the league and an internationalist highlights very shrewd business on the part of Celtic.

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Right Backs

Jeremy Toljan’s loan ended as Celtic lost Cristian Gamboa and Mikael Lustig, both leaving under freedom of contract. Lustig, the vice captain at the club for a number of years was a revered member of the squad; however, it was evident that we needed a replacement as Lustig looked lethargic getting forward and leaky at the back. It would’ve been brilliant if a loyal servant of the club were to be retained but Lustig made a decision for his family and he left with everyones best wishes.

Hatem Abd Elhamed arrived as our versatile right back recruit from Hapoel Be’er Sheva, some questioned whether he was a centre back or a defensive midfielder. Although, Elhamed has been utilised as what appears to be our first choice right back. The 28-year-old has impressed with his pace, defensive abilities and robust tackling. Playing through injury proves his desire to play for the cause – especially when replacing Mikael Lustig, a stalwart in the 8-in-a-row sides in the years before.

Anthony Ralston departed on loan to St Johnstone, a move that could be good for his development and either set him up for a future at Celtic or a chance to prove that he could be useful player for a club at this level.

The signing of Moritz Bauer on loan provides cover for Elhamed and the option to buy acts as an incentive for the player to give his all when called upon as a return to Stoke must be a haunting alternative. Bauer’s long throw gives Celtic another dynamic to explore in attack, something that we haven’t had before. A really awkward delivery that will have teams sweating.

In the youth department, the club also signed Dutch U19 Jeremie Frimpong from Manchester City to offer another prospect at right back.

Central Defenders

Celtic went into the summer with a recognised pairing of Jozo Simunovic and Kris Ajer. Dedryck Boyata left the club for nothing and joined Hertha Berlin, a year after Seville and Fulham sought the Belgian for £9 million. Benkovic returned to Leicester as the enigma that is Marvin Compper’s contract was terminated. In Boyata and Benkovic, we lost two first team quality defenders.

Three central defenders left the club whilst only one was signed. Christopher Jullien appeared to be one of Celtic’s top targets through the summer and a fee of £7million proved how highly he was rated by the club. Like Bolingoli, Jullien was criticised by sections of the press and support yet he answered them emphatically with a masterclass at Ibrox, giving an incredible display at the heart of the Celtic defence. Nir Bitton, a makeshift option, once again impressed at the back and could be an unlikely candidate to play a part in Celtic’s defence this season. Neil Lennon must surely be planning on offering Bitton a new contract over the next month or so.

Meanwhile, the club signed Irish U19’s star Lee O’Connor joined from Manchester United on a four-year deal. O’Connor is rated highly by United supporters and Irish youth coaches and offers versatility as he can be utilised across the backline. We also completed the signing of highly rated Norwegian youngster Leo Hjelde from Rosenborg.

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Midfield

In the midfield position at Celtic, we look our strongest with Kouassi, McGregor, Rogic, Brown, Bitton, Christie and Ntcham all vying for positions. It was evident that neither Youssouf Mulumbu and Scott Allan were good enough for Celtic, despite impressing in spells at Kilmarnock and Hibs respectively.

Ewan Henderson has swapped Glasgow for Dingwall to join Ross County on loan, something which will hopefully result in Henderson being able to secure regular first team football with a view to returning to Celtic next season. It would have been good if Kouassi could have got a loan to get game time; however, as he has just returned from a serious injury, it makes sense that the club are keen to keep him close by.

Despite the click-bait rumours that Tom Rogic was headed for Zenit St Petersburg and Olivier Ntcham was playing his ticket, hopeful of a move to France (not click bait) or Callum McGregor was set to be reunited with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester (click bait), it would appear that Celtic have ended the summer in a stronger position than they entered it.

Luca Connell was signed from Bolton Wanderers for a £350k development fee and he is one to watch for the future. A defensive midfielder, who is rated highly by Irish National coaches is expected to play a role in the reserve team and progress from there. Liam Burt, who rejected a deal from the Rangers, arrived as a development option.

Attack

In attack, Celtic lost Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke, who left at the end (or just before the end in Timo’s case) of their loans. Their time in Glasgow offered glimpses of talent; however, both failed to impress Neil Lennon or their parent clubs and departed. Weah was sold by PSG to Lille while Burke has gone to Spain on loan for the season. Our strengths lie in James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard, with a good pool of squad players to facilitate their talents. The left sided position has been aided by a coming of age for Mikey Johnston, who Neil Lennon has preferred to Scotty Sinclair so far this season.

Despite his record £9 million fee, Edouard has gone from strength to strength. His goal on Sunday proved that he is a truly exceptional talent that can do it when called upon. His heroics in May against Hearts showcased how he can turn a game on its head. James Forrest, as well, has gone from strength to strength – which is why Neil Lennon has promised to reward him with a new deal.

Maryan Shved arrived at the club, having been signed in January and has thus far failed to make an impact. Shved will be hoping to get his chance as Celtic enter the busier months of the season despite appearing behind Mikey Johnson, Jonny Hayes and Lewis Morgan in Neil Lennon’s plans.

The depth of the squad hasn’t stopped Celtic completing an inspired piece of business with Celtic completing the Southampton loan signing of Norwegian International Mohamed Elyounoussi. The 25-year-old joined the Saints for £16 million last summer and as a player that can play off the left or up front offers a quality first team option for the club. This means that game time will be hard to come by for both Scotty Sinclair and Lewis Morgan. What the future holds for Daniel Arzani remains to be seen, who has one year remaining on his loan from Manchester City.

With Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Bayo to support Edouard in attack, the club look promising going forward, especially with the amount of games that we had to play with just one quality striker last season.

The club also signed Southampton youngster Jonathan Afolabi, who will be one for the future as Jack Aitchison left Celtic for Forest Green Rovers on a season long loan.

Cutting the Dead Weight

This summer promised to see a lot of players deemed not good enough end their spells at Celtic – Compper, Gamboa and Mulumbu to name a few. Celtic did well to negotiate their release.

Unfortunately, Celtic weren’t able to cut certain numbers from their squad – such as Calvin Miller and Jack Hendry, who were unable to secure moves away. American duo Manny Perez and Andrew Gutman returned to the USA to gain experience. Players like Lewis Morgan and Eboue Kouassi could have benefitted from loan moves away; albeit they still remain part of the first team.

Scotty Sinclair appeared to be one that was marked to be sold this window; however, no move materialised and Sinclair has fallen down the manager’s plans. Especially given the number of options in his position, it remains to be seen why Celtic triggered an option in Sinclair’s contract so that he’d remain at Celtic another year. If he is on £30k a week that is an expensive mistake to have been made at Board level.

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Overall

Celtic’s summer business was in all, successful. The game at Ibrox on Sunday highlighted that Celtic are still, despite all the noise, clearly the best team in Scotland and have eventually recruited well. Whether it was a reaction to the fallout of our defeat to Cluj or not, Celtic made strides in the transfer market to genuinely strengthen.

The circumstances that led to the club crashing out of the Champions League as we annually gamble with that money; although Neil Lennon acknowledged that since he returned as full-time manager, he has only suffered one poor half of football. Incidentally, with a handful of youthful signings, it suggests that there is some long-term planning in place within the recruitment department. That said we have signed a number of loanees, which doesn’t scream long term planning; however, all loan signings have potential to materialise into more permanent options.

Have you noticed that all the deals have been on four year contracts? It looks like we are building for the future which is great to see.

The biggest negative remains the team selection and performance against Cluj. Neil Lennon blamed the players, the Celtic support blamed the manager and the CEO Peter Lawwell. Yes Scott Brown had a shocker, so did Scott Bain (costly for him). Yet it could have been easily avoided without spending any more money that has been spent looking back in the window this morning.

All summer long The Celtic Star told us we would be shopping in Kilmarnock. Greg Taylor could have been bought for the same sum on the FIRST day of the window and not the LAST.

In Cluj they kept the grass long and down our left hand side Bolingoli and Morgan had shockers, but we got a 1-1 draw. Neil Lennon then presumably reckoned that Cluj would target Bolingoli in the second game so he tried to outsmart Desperate Dan by playing Callum McGregor at left back.

Scott Brown and captain and John Kennedy as Assistant Manager – both involved at Ibrox on 29 December – should have raised the red flag at that point.

Had Taylor been signed on the first day rather than the last day you feel that we’d have easily taken care of Cluj, as indeed we’ll prove in the Champions League.

The Fans Media

This site (The Celtic Star), The Celtic Blog, Video Celts, Celts Are Here, Celtic Underground, E-Tims and the 90 Minute Cynics all voiced serious concerns about the way Peter Lawwell was running the club after the Cluj disaster and all should be applauded for standing up for the support.

Some wanted Neil Lennon to get the job in May (eg The Celtic Star) while others were very vocal in arguing the opposite position (eg The Celtic Blog). That was NOT the issue in the summer. All the sites mentioned got behind the manager and the team but we wanted to ensure that the Board kept their promise and backed him in the window.

Selling KT and playing Calmac at left back in the most important game of the season suggested otherwise.

Yet the board’s puppet called the other sites Bed Wetters ahead of Ibrox – on Celtic Noise, the Celtic Star editor had a thread up all week on the match predicting another Beautiful Sunday, a scoreline of 2-0 and that Odsonne Edouard would score, so not sure where that is coming from.

But the fans media did have an impact and will always speak up. When acting collectively they have a very powerful voice.

Lubo98

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Also on The Celtic Star…

Lee O’Connor signs for Celtic from Man Utd with minutes to spare…see HERE.

‘I can’t wait to play at Celtic Park,’ new Bhoy Jeremie Frimpong signs four-year deal…see HERE.

‘What an honour,’ Taylor’s Celtic Delight, Manchester Bhoys signings Imminent…see HERE.

Celtic’s Late Manchester Raid, Aitchison to Green Rovers, Jones Ruptured his ACL, thoughts and prayers etc…see HERE.

Taylor Fee Agreed as Henderson heads to Highlands…see HERE.

No Swap Shop – Taylor’s Transfer takes another Twist…see HERE.

UEFA open proceedings against Celtic and AIK…see HERE.

Anthony Ralston’s St Johnstone Loan move confirmed…see HERE.

Flimpong from Man City? The Wanyama Window Deadline Day Round-up…see HERE.