Central Defence
COMO, ITALY – JULY 26: Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic FC competes for the ball with Fahad Al-Rashidi of Al-Ahli SFC during the Como Cup match between Al-Ahli and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 26, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Central defence is reasonably well stocked, on the right-hand side. But is it secure enough? Cameron Carter-Vickers is returning to fitness and should again be a cornerstone, once he gets back up to speed, with Dane Murray impressing in pre-season as a rotational option.
Auston Trusty of Celtic FC in action during Como Cup match played between Al-Ahli and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 26, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Auston Trusty has been a standout left-sided partner in pre-season and with Liam Scales reliable as backup it is difficult to see Celtic looking for further strengthening in the transfer window, unless one of these options receives an offer from elsewhere. But you get the impression the manager isn’t fully convinced by either player yet. If an opportunity to sign the right player arises, perhaps Celtic would press the button, but for now it seems unlikely.
Liam Scales heads in the 4th Celtic goal during the pre-season friendly match between Celtic and Newcastle United at Celtic Park on July 19, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
As a fifth defender Stephen Welsh remains with the club but is likely to want to move on for first team football. That opens up a possible signing of a loan option or a promotion from within. If it was to be the latter someone would have staked a claim in pre-season. That’s not happened. So Celtic’s recent links with Man City and a loan deal for Jahmai Simpson-Pusey make sense, but you’d doubt he’s heading north unless he’s getting first team football.
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