Celtic have been working away on signing a number of targets in the last few weeks with Carl Starfelt, Kyogo Furuhashi, James McCarthy and Joe Hart all signing long-term deals with the club as Ange Postecoglou’s side begins to take shape.
However, there are certain positions that require immediate attention – a right-back, a central defender, a left-winger, and striker. Odsonne Edouard is expected to depart in the next week with Southampton and Brighton vying for his signature but the result at Tannadice earlier today only emphasises how a strong recruitment drive in the next week could set Celtic up for a trip to Ibrox on August 29th. If Celtic are signing anyone from outwith the UK or ‘Green List’ countries then they will require to quarantine – meaning that the club needs to act swiftly to secure these players’ availability for the trip to Ibrox.
The need for another central defender beside Carl Starfelt is evident. Until Christopher Jullien is fit again, there is a lack of a quality first-team option for Postecoglou to use. The fact that the Australian persisted with Nir Bitton despite mistakes vs Midtjylland, then against Hearts and during the week against FK Jablonec instead of Stephen Welsh suggests that he knows that he needs to use the market to bring in another defender to bolster his options. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Ko Itakura and Mario Vuskovic have been linked but no deals have been forthcoming.
The right-back position is currently occupied by Anthony Ralston but this is regarded by all as a temporary solution as the team hunt for a permanent replacement for both Hatem Abd Elhamed and Jeremie Frimpong. Aurelio Buta, George Baldock and Josip Juranovic have all been linked but no deal appears to be forthcoming at the moment. The right back role is a priority for the club, Celtic have known this since January but have not been able to seal a deal at this stage.
Edouard may move on next week with Ange admitting more deals were on the go but Rangers defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice proves that the club need to give the manager the tools that he needs in order to propel Celtic back to the top of the tree of Scottish football. The Frenchman’s contribution cannot be understated in the last few years but the club will need to replace him with another option in attack. Furuhashi’s movement versus Jablonec suggests that he will be a big player in the future for the club.
The next few days will be crucial to determine where Celtic will be at the beginning of next month, where we will be in the league, which European competition we will be in and whether we will still be in the League Cup. Transfer business needs to be completed as soon as possible but given the result today in the league, Dom McKay and Ange Postecoglou will want to get their business done as soon as possible to stand the best chance of a win at Ibrox at the end of the month as well as a place in the Europa League Group Stages.
HH FED UP Listening about Christopher Jullien he is injured long term so Celtic need to get some 1 in to defend and if Celtic get the right person in why should the team who are playing well for 1 tobe dropped not fair, Yes we need players if Jullien comes back in and struggles and upset a winning team is this right: Also I now that could go the other way, wee Celtic are wasting time Talking about the player coming back let’s just get players in for the here and now then see what happens when Jullien and any other player are fit hh ktf
Gary Cahill is a free agent with a wealth of experience who would be a great addition if we could get him.