Celtic’s transfer strategy has rightfully been praised over the years for being able to unearth gems like Henrik Larsson, Vigil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and many more from abroad.
It’s often overlooked that they also have a good record of buying and developing young talent from the Scottish Premiership. Of course for every Scott Brown you may end up with a Nadir Ciftci, but there’s plenty on offer that could help Neil Lennon build his team going forward.
After all, these players will have experience of playing in this league and knowing what it’s all about, so here’s a look at five players who the club should look at this Summer.
Ali McCann – St Johnstone
He’s still only 20 but he’s gone from an un-fancied youth player to one of the first names on the team sheet after Tommy Wright’s team have gone on an incredible run of late. He’s not big or particularly menacing, but he plays with so much heart and desire that it makes up for the lack of physicality. He’s also shown he can pick a pass, control a game and even come up with some vital goals at times, so he looks destined for much bigger things. It’s hard to say how much he might cost after signing a long term deal recently, but his all round ability in midfield could allow him to shine at the highest level.
David Turnbull – Motherwell
We already know that Neil Lennon is a big fan after his transfer to Celtic fell through in the Summer, so this one should really come down to how well he does on his return from injury. He’s shown he has the ability to score a lot of goals from the midfield and his class on the ball was evident. If he starts to show he’s still the same player then he would make sense as a replacement for Tom Rogic if he moves on. Both players like to score goals and have the same elegant style in that number 10 role, so it will be interesting to see if that interest starts to resurface.
John Souttar – Hearts
Souttar has been spoken about for a long time now, but he’s still only 23. There’s no doubt he’s been hampered by injuries and playing in a horrible Hearts team, but he’s an all round defender who has the ability to play out from the back. At this point it would be a push to say he could replace Ajer or Jullien, but he could provide a handy back up option – especially when Jozo Simunovic has looked poor when given the chance. There’s a chance that Hearts could go down, so he could be cheap too. He also looks more assured than the over-hyped Scott McKenna at Aberdeen.
Cameron MacPherson – St Mirren
Able to fill in at right back but at his strongest in midfield, MacPherson looks like the latest to come through at the club that developed John McGinn, Stevie Mallan and Kenny McLean among others. He may lack some pace but his technical ability in undoubted and his versatility could be useful too. He’s yet to establish himself as a key player for an entire season, so would probably be one for the future.
Martin Boyle – Hibs
Lots of pace and the ability to terrify opposition defenders. He does have a history of injuries that may be a concern, but he also looks like he could give a similar option to Jonny Hayes on the opposite flank. You wouldn’t expect him to start, but his ability to play anywhere on the right flank would be incredibly useful, and he would provide a viable alternative to James Forrest when he’s out of form. The prospect of him and Frimpong runnng at players on the same wing would be incredibly exciting.
There may not be too many players who could come in and immediately demand a starting spot, but these five have the ability to become important players for Celtic if they signed.
