Celtic transfer window shouldn’t be this complicated and continuing neglect of one position is unacceptable – Chris Sutton.
Nicolas Kuhn remains the only addition of the January window with frustrations rising among the fans.
Greg Taylor is on the injured list. There are six days till the transfer window closes, and no left-back deal has been completed to offset the absence.
Brendan Rodgers has knew he needed one for a long time. If he and the recruitment staff couldn’t spot it as far back as last summer, they weren’t searching hard enough. In these instances, I completely understand the Celtic fans’ displeasure. I’ll get to the quality issue in a minute, but not even being able to get backup in the door is unacceptable.
Securing Cameron Carter-Vickers on a new deal is great news. He’s been the best defender in Scotland for a while, but you can’t get away from the fact there are areas of concern within the team. Everyone thinks Celtic will just roll over Ross County today. They should, but that’s not the point. The point is this is they have left themselves light. Alexandro Bernabei hasn’t been trusted for a while and this was the one position that urgently needed to be sorted out. The fact it’s not yet been done by now beggars belief.
Is it on Rodgers? Is it on Mark Lawwell and his team? Is it on the board? For me, it’s on the recruitment side and the facts are this market seems to be more complicated for Celtic than it ought to be.
Rodgers has spoken about quality and not adding players for the sake of it. That is OK if you are discussing improvement. However, he stated last week that Celtic needed to be wary of a loading issue with Taylor, which was about support and backup.
So you’re telling me there isn’t a single left-back better than Bernabei out there who fits within the Celtic model? Get off it. Taylor’s defensive performance in the Champions League is lacking, and it’s important to better every position. However, failing to improve domestically is unacceptable.
As for the quality, well that puzzles me. Rodgers said prior to the window opening he wanted it but he’s got just one in the door by January 27. What’s been happening for the past six months? Where are signs of the behind-the-scenes work?
We all understand the model and Celtic were moving in the right Champions League direction last season but they aren’t now and are also now causing themselves unnecessary issues at domestic level. That’s worthy of fans’ concern. Why are the club not on the right side of the signings? What’s changed on that front since Ange Postecoglou left?
The Taylor situation is case in point and, when looking at the likes of signing Gustaf Lagerbielke, Marco Tilio and Nat Phillips, you have to ask what’s gone awry.
Liam Scales can play left-back, but he will not be able to provide Celtic with the same offensive elegance as Taylor. He passes and runs, assists, and occasionally scores. Compare the right-hand side. I’m not out to get Alistair Johnston, but I recently read that he hasn’t scored a single goal and has only assisted once this season.
Given the necessity for Celtic right-backs to step up and generate quality, that is a dismal return.
Taylor mitigates it to some level, but if he is unavailable, another alternative is lost, and the fact that someone has not been signed and is ready to go right away is not acceptable.
Striker was the other key position but, as I’ve said, that’s not an easy sell because you are either asking a quality individual to come and sit on the bench behind Kyogo Furuhashi or splashing enough cash to get someone better. I’d suggest finding a left-back to offer competition to Taylor isn’t a challenge of that scale.
That’s why I understand the supporters’ frustrations, but after reading through the rest of the unit, I’m not sure why certain fans are concerned. Joe Hart is fine. You could find a better backup, but there’s no need to worry because the defense has Carter-Vickers, Scales, Maik Nawrocki, and Stephen Welsh. Although not at Champions League standard, it is adequate for the remainder of current domestic season.
Celtic’s midfield is packed, with Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley, Paulo Bernardo finding his feet, and Reo Hatate returning to fitness. Celtic could not afford to accept Atletico Madrid’s bid and let O’Riley go. That would have been wild. So he stays, because, again, unless you spend foolish money, who is going to kick McGregor, O’Riley, and Hatate off the team? And Bernardo is proving to be a capable backup.
The wings look fascinating. In theory, Luis Palma, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada, and Nicolas Kuhn are all good possibilities for two positions. But that is only a theory. Palma and Maeda, absolutely, but I’ll wait till the window closes before I’m really convinced of Abada.
I don’t need to go into the challenges which the lad has been facing in the past few months. Celtic are adamant he’s staying and if so fine because a flying Abada is a proven performer. But will he be right at it? That’s hard to say. Rodgers says Kuhn is quality, but he’s going to have to prove it. If he’s not, Celtic have an issue.
In attack I don’t mind Oh Hyeon-gyu. I think he’s got something as a back-up, but he’s not ready to take over full-time from Kyogo. Anthony Ralston can cover Johnston on the domestic scene, but left-back is glaring and it’s poor that it’s not been sorted with less than a week left.
I believe that much of the worry among fans stems from the fact that Rangers do not appear to be going anywhere. Hibs aren’t fantastic, but Philippe Clement’s side demolished them in a way Celtic couldn’t in Leith earlier this season. Rodgers’ team returns on Wednesday, four days after travelling to Aberdeen. Celtic must persevere during this challenging time.
Overall, I believe they have the quality in place to accomplish it, but they are sailing close to the wind. This window did not need to be that elaborate. So, why is that?
Leave a Reply