Celtic’s sluggish and disjointed summer recruitment now a major concern

With just over a week remaining until the Champions League registration deadline, concern is mounting among Celtic fans over the club’s sluggish and seemingly disjointed summer recruitment strategy…

An update from Scott Burns at Daily Record has provided some insight today — but it arguably raises more red flags than reassurances.

‘Michel-Ange Balikwisha remains a target. Celtic are spinning a number of plates and it will come down to where they feel they can get best value for money. They have brought in a couple of Japanese players and my understanding is there is another potential move still in the offing from that market. A couple of European-based are also being looked at in person.’

Michel-Ange Balikwisha remains a name of interest to Celtic, as Burns notes, but it seems we’ve left that kid hanging all summer, so the continued appearance of indecision is a wee bit troubling to say the least.

The report also suggests that another move from the Japanese market may be on the cards, following the arrivals of Hayato Inamura and Shin Yamada. While the club’s track record with signings from Japan has been mixed, there’s no doubt the right player can provide good value. But Inamura wasn’t in the squad for Flag Day against St Mirren, and Yamada remained on the bench while Johnny Kenny was introduced ahead of him — a curious decision if Yamada was signed with first-team impact in mind.

More worryingly, Burns notes that the club are still assessing “a couple of European-based” players in person.

With only eight days until the UEFA deadline for squad registration ahead of a crucial tie against either Slovan Bratislava or Kairat Almaty, the notion that Celtic are still in the scouting phase — physically sending people out to “get eyes on” players — smacks of unpreparedness. That’s not just a concern in terms of timing. It suggests an overarching issue with recruitment strategy and decision-making.

In an ideal world, a Champions League-chasing club beds in its core signings at this point, not debates whether targets are up to scratch. Still doing scouting assessments at this late stage implies Celtic have missed their top choices, or worse, never fully settled on a shortlist in the first place.

There’s no denying that transfer windows can be complex and unpredictable — negotiating fees, work permits, personal terms, and more can delay even well-advanced deals. But the optics here are poor.

In recent days the only real links have been for Adam Obert a Slovakian centre half from Calgiari, as reported in Italian publication Union Serda.

But even if that is accurate it already looks outdated, with Celtic now arguably overstocked for central defensive options after the arrival of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on a season long from Manchester City –

‘..the Rossoblu club received offers for Zito Luvumbo and Adam Obert, but rejected them because they were deemed too low. Ligue 1 club Rennes came forward for the Angolan striker, offering €3.5 million: a valuation that Cagliari deems insufficient to allow him to leave. The Slovakian defender, on the other hand, is wanted by Celtic, but even the champions of the last Scottish Premier League failed to reach the right figures to reach an agreement. A raise will be necessary to see them leave.’

The only other credible link appears to be Stefan Bajčetić – as we brought to you earlier on The Celtic Star – from Liverpool. But that move – rumoured to be a loan with an option to buy – whilst promising, is for a player who is not expected to be fit until the end of August and who has had extended periods out injured over the last two seasons. A good player, no doubt, but not one who would help with Champions League qualifying.

With Celtic arguably still short of three attacking starters, it’s worrying that Michel-Ange Balikwisha, a player who sounds like the club’s fallback option is still the only credible link at the moment. We need that to change and quickly.

Niall J

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