After officially receiving the number 1 shirt going into the new season, it’s clear that Joe hart is going to start every meaningful game, but there are still some matters to be sorted out when it comes to depth.
Barkas has left on loan so he’s out of the picture, while Scott Bain has been perfectly serviceable during his time at the club, but if Hart were to miss a few games then he’s not good enough to play an extended run of games.
It’s clear that Celtic are looking to bring in an upgrade to the backup position, and Sky Sports did recently report that a move for Dundee United keeper Benji Siegrist was at an advanced stage.
There is still a need for a third-string keeper so perhaps Bain sticks around, but it’s more likely that he’ll look to leave and play some first-team football next season.
It’s hard to see anyone paying any kind of fee and a loan move is the most likely option, but there are three potential destinations in the league that would make sense.
Dundee United
The loss of Siegrist means that United will have to make some kind of signing this summer, while their backup Trevor Carson left to join St Mirren earlier in the summer.
There is a chance that they were prepared for this after the signing of Finnish international Carljohan Eriksson in the January window, but it’s not clear if he’s expecting to start, especially after the appointment of a new manager in Jack Ross.
There are expectations in Tayside that St Johnstone keeper Zander Clark will leave this summer, and Dundee United would be the logical option if he wants to earn more without moving far from home, and that would then open up a spot at McDiarmid Park…
St Johnstone
Saints only managed to stay up last season because Dundee were clearly out of their depth, while Callum Davidson’s side average well under a goal per game in the league so having a solid goalkeeper is more important than ever in Perth.
It would likely need to be a loan move with Celtic paying a decent chunk of his wage, but it might be the best move for Bain in terms of making him look good and potentially reigniting any international ambitions.
He’ll play every week, he’s going to get plenty of shots to stop and that’s where his strength lies, but other clubs may be more appealing so this might be something that happens later in the window if nothing else materialises.
Aberdeen
Joe Lewis turned into a liability last season after being reliable for so long at Pittodrie, and it’s led to an interesting situation where Jim Goodwin has tried to offer him assurances while also stating that they will bring in a new keeper this summer.
Aberdeen have a recent history of taking players from Celtic who weren’t quite good enough to hold down a regular first-team role, and Bain would be an upgrade on what Lewis was able to offer last season.
Again this could be a situation where he would have to challenge for the starting role rather than automatically playing every week, so it will be interesting to see what choices he has, and if he prioritises trying to play with the biggest club or actually becoming the undisputed number 1 again somewhere.
