As rumours continue to circle around potential signings at our title rivals Hearts and theRangers, things have been worryingly quiet at Celtic…
Celtic interim manager Martin O Neill. Final score Celtic 4 Dundee united 0. Celtic v Dundee United, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 10 January 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock
This season has been a rollercoaster ride from the start. We have had three changes of managers already. We have sacked our head of football operations. We have gone from the highs of Rotterdam to the lows of Fir Park. We have had fan groups and fan media, including The Celtic Star, banned. We have even seen Peter Lawwell finally depart (we hope). The one thing that hasn’t changed however is our inactivity in the transfer market.
First three-way title ace in years
There hasn’t been as tight a title race in Scotland in years, especially one involving more than two teams. Martin O’Neill has rightly claimed the season starts here, it’s going to boil down to who can perform over these next few months. The race for the title could depend on how this transfer window goes for each side involved, and so far Celtic have been left in the starter blocks. As our rivals get to work bringing in players to bolster weak areas within their squad we are left fumbling around in the dark.
Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock
So far we have added an extra right back in, Julian Araujo, who from what we have seen in the last few games looks like a decent bit of business. The thing is it’s not really an area we were screaming out for cover. Yes Alistair Johnston is still a couple of months away from returning but we already have Anthony Ralston and Colby Donovan as cover. Is Araujo an upgrade on the pair? I would say he is but there are many more areas that we need upgrades in first.
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We need to sign a striker
Every single Celtic fan will agree that the one thing we really need is a striker. It’s something we have needed since Kyogo left around this time a year ago. So what great plan did the brains in charge of recruitment at Celtic Park come up with after all this time? Get Kyogo back a year later to replace himself.
Kyogo Furuhashi scores his team’s second goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Cambridge United and Birmingham City at Cledara Abbey Stadium on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Sally Rawlins/Getty Images)
Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Cambridge United and Birmingham City at Cledara Abbey Stadium on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Sally Rawlins/Getty Images)
World Class in Everything We Do FC
Honest to God you couldn’t make this stuff up. There have been many things over the past few years that have left us astounded when it comes to Celtic’s recruitment tactics but this one pretty much summed us up. No imagination. No data driven expertise. No scouts unearthing potential stars who have yet to land on the big clubs radars. No, yet again it looks like we have got out the old rolodex and are dialling the same old numbers of past players and their agents. It’s embarrassing for a club who is supposedly world class in everything it does to be operating this way.
Transfer strategy? What transfer strategy?
Celtic Manager Wilfried Nancy Celtic Team Training and press conference, Lennoxtown Training Ground, 2 January 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock
When it comes to a transfer strategy, we are all over the place. Now I have to say one thing, I will give them a bit of leeway at the moment due to the circumstances (of their own making) surrounding Tisdale and Nancy. Any list that we had at the start of the window will have been for players suited to our system under the Frenchman. That list should be rightly discarded along with Tisdale and Nancy. So where does that leave us? Well from what I’m interpreting from what Martin O’Neill has been saying then we are going to hope that Shaun Maloney will be able to pull a few rabbits out of the hat.
Not the time for projects or punts
It’s far from the perfect situation but Shaun has been working alongside Tisdale for a while now and should have came across plenty of potential signings in that time. The one thing I have to say is that this is not the time for projects. We need players that are going to come in and make an impact straight away. Personally I think we should be utilising the loan market if we can. We know Martin isn’t going to be here long term so getting players in on the short term could be the ideal solution, as long as they are of a high standard.
Bowie of Hibs and Maswanhise of Motherwell
Hibernian v Motherwell, Scottish Premiership Tawanda Maswanhise 18 – Motherwell celebrates opening the scoring during the l Scottish Premiership match between Hibernian and Motherwell at Easter Road, Edinburgh, UK on 10 January 2026. Photo IMAGO/Pro Sports Raymond Davies PSI
I also wouldn’t be opposed to bringing in players already operating in Scotland. We have been linked with both Kieron Bowie of Hibs and Tawanda Maswanhise of Motherwell, which to me would both bring something to our team. We would be getting players who already know the league and who we already know can score goals here. We don’t really have the luxury of giving time to players coming in from further afield to find their feet. We need players who will be settled instantly and ready to contribute from the moment they arrive.
Maeda and Yang need to stay
Yang Hyun-Jun of Celtic during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
By the end of this month it’s absolutely imperative that we have strengthened this squad. Bringing in at least one striker is must. We also need to tell the likes of Maeda and Yang that we need them to stay at least until the end of the season, then we can talk about their futures. We will need all the good players we have for what will be a monumental push to reclaim our title. If we fail we shouldn’t be looking back at this window and thinking we should have done more. We will only have one opportunity to get this right.
Conall McGinty
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