As Celtic head into the final hours of the transfer window it looks like it could be a busy day for incomings and outgoings at the club. Ange Postecoglou has had time to now assess who he has and who he trusts to influence the matchday squad at Celtic and he’s been very vocal as to the need for his squad to be strengthened ahead of both a domestic and European campaign this season.
Celtic as we pointed out in an earlier article have recouped, even at a conservative estimate some £45m in transfer fees since Jeremie Frimpong left the club, that figure may well be over £50m by the time this transfer window closes at midnight tonight, but what about those who have arrived at the club to join the Ange revolution?
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First up was the pre-contract deal for Liam Shaw from Sheffield Wednesday. This one was agreed in January of course, prior to Postecoglou’s arrival, and although officially unreported the fee was expected to have been around £300k. Shaw has played in pre-season and has made the occasional matchday squad but has yet to make his competitive debut for the club. Although it appears Shaw is a first ream squad member, the fact he’s not been called upon, despite the manager indicating his squad is light on numbers, may indicate Shaw is seen as more one for the future rather than someone expected to impact on the first XI this season.
Shaw was also joined by Wednesday teammate Osaze Urhoghide as the next one through the door as he became Postecoglou’s first signing of the summer. Once again, the cross-border element to this deal allowed Celtic to pick up the young centre half who can also play right back for a nominal fee, reported to be £200k. Once again much like Shaw, Urhoghide has appeared in match-day squads but yet to make his competitive bow indicating again that despite a lack of numbers in central defence this lad has a bit of developing to do on the training ground before he’s ready for regular first team action.
One youngster who has impacted on the first team is 19-year-old Liel Abada, who signed on at the Hoops from Israeli side Maccabi Petah Tikva for £3.5m. Another one from the Dudu Dahan stable there are high hopes for Abada and although there have been murmurings of discontent with regards his consistency there is no doubting the player has a big future at Celtic and has already made an immediate impact. This was a substantial outlay for Celtic taking into account the players age but so far it looks a gamble that will pay-off.
Celtic however haven’t however been scouting in the kindergarten exclusively this summer as was evidenced with the signing of Swedish international defender Carl Starfelt. The Centre half has had some high-profile errors in his early games but he has also shown moments that indicate after a settling in period Celtic have found themselves an experienced and capable performer for the middle of the defence and you’d expect nothing less with Celtic shelling out £4.2m for the player.
Then came the signing of the summer as Japanese International Kyogo Furuhashi signed on from J-League club Vissel Kobe for £4.5m and what a signing this lad has turned out to be. It’s been goals galore and performances to match since Furuhashi signed and you get the feeling he’s only just started. At one point the striker was top scorer in the Scottish top flight and the J-League at the same time. Not bad for a guy who cost £1m more than Patryck Klimala.
There have also been further experienced performers added to the squad. James McCarthy signed up for the Hoops having been released by Crystal Palace. We’re yet to see much of Celtic’s defensive midfielder as injury has disrupted his start but considering McCarthy arrived on a free transfer there isn’t a massive gamble in signing the Celtic supporting midfielder other than the outlay in wages.
Something similar could be said as former 75 times capped England goalkeeper Joe Hart joined the ranks from Tottenham Hotspur, again the fee reported as being £1m means there is little to gamble on in terms of outlay and if, as reported, Hart agreed to sign on with a vastly reduced weekly wage, the experience and leadership exhibited by Hart so far may have been accrued at little cost.
Josip Juranovic was next through the door as the Croatian international right back, who debuted on the left side of the defence at Ibrox on Sunday joined from Polish side Legia Warsaw for a fee of £2.5m. We have yet to see much of the player, but by all accounts, he comes highly regarded and will eventually add much needed competition to a right back position that prior to his signing only had Tony Ralston as a trusted player for the position.
Liam Scales then became Celtic’s latest signing as he agreed to join the Hoops from Shamrock Rovers for £500k. The versatile defender who has played predominately as a central defender in the early part of his career but utilised of late as a left sided wing back is expected to come into the first team reckoning. His stats appear to indicate Celtic have signed a good defender and one that is still improving, how he handles the step up to a club the size of Celtic will be the next challenge.
Celtic have made further signings including highly regarded defender Bosun Lawal for £120k from Watford and promising striker Joey Dawson from Scunthorpe United for an estimate £100k, however both players have been signed initially to play in Celtic’s B team this season.
Celtic it looks must have scope to further reinforce Ange Postecoglou squad in the final hours of the transfer window with approximately £17m spent on fees, and at a conservative estimate some £45m recouped since Jeremie Frimpong move to Bayer Leverkusen, but really the figure could be closer to £50m.
There are strong rumours of a loan deal for Benfica left winger Filipe Jota and of Greek striker Georgios Giakoumakis from Dutch side VVV Venlo joining today for £2.5m. Yet with Ange Postecoglou aware the centre of defence and midfield also need further attention there is certainly scope in the finances to back the manager, particularly if Ryan Christie gets his wish to pass up on 60,000 fans every week, European football and silverware and head to the English Championship for Bournemouth’s promotion push.
It will be interesting to see how much more the Celtic board are willing to invest on top of the £17million already spent in this transfer window. There is certainly scope to back their manager given the net spend to date.
Niall J
On Joe hart he’s already proved to be a great signing and considering we wasted roughly 5m on barkas this day last year it does prove that the transfer fee can be irrelevant if the player works out and does a job for us
Totally agree. Hart has been a great influence on the defence and his performances will only tighten with a run of games and the cobwebs get blown off. Also agree on the issue with fees. Not fussed what we spend on players but we could do with a few more bodies capable of playing in the team or being a suitable back up to provide competition and options.