John Hartson has tipped Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou to spend money on new recruits in the January transfer window. Postecoglou is only partly finished with his rebuild of the quadruple treble winners, having brought in a significant amount of new faces in the summer time.
The end of a period of domestic dominance naturally saw a lot of the playing staff head for pastures new, with Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie but a few who cut ties with the club after our fabled ten-in-a-row campaign. This did, however, leave us with a nice bundle of cash to play with in regards to the rebuilding of the playing squad. Having previously sold Jeremie Frimpong last January to Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5 million, Celtic accrued another £30 million or so in fees for Edouard, Ajer and Christie respectively.
So far money has been spent bringing in Abada, Kyogo, Hart, Juranovic and Giakoumakis, who’s transfer fees have somewhere in the region of £13 million – so you would imagine there would be money to spend come January. The forward area and central midfield are the parts of the squad that most needs addressed, with Celtic linked with a move for Daizen Maeda and Fernando Henrique.
Hartson suggested Celtic will be pouring over footage and scouting reports ahead of the window opening on 1 January. Speaking to Go Radio (via Daily Record), he said: “Celtic will have recruitment people obviously looking all over. They will be getting DVDs and videos and from scouts every single day. They’ll be looking at different players.”
“They have to be because they have to be aware of what’s out there. Celtic being the global club that it is. And he can look at these players but if he doesn’t see them players coming in and being the right fit, then he wants to be the man to say: ‘Look, I’m not quite sure about that one. “There’s talk about another Japanese striker coming in. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got that one over the line in January.”
The move for Maeda looks like it is in the offing, with him being a former player of Ange Postecoglou. A Japanese international, the hard looking Yokohama F. Marinos striker is able to play on the wing or through the middle – a very useful attribute considering the way in which Ange likes to set-up. With Henrique, there are numerous reports all saying different things relating to Celtic making a move. One things for sure though, there is definitely interest in the Brazilian youngster.
Whoever is lined up for the next recruits to the rebuild, Ange will have money to spend which is essential if we are to challenge and win this title back from our rival. The anticipation is building ahead of the next phase of the Ange Postecoglou revolution.
Paul Gillespie
