da mrbet： On Monday Celtic announced that the transfer saga that’s surrounded them all summer long was finally over. Patrick Roberts will return to Glasgow from parent club Manchester City on a season-long loan, extending his relationship with the club after an initial 18-month stay at Celtic Park.
da cassino： It’s the signing that fans have been craving ever since the end of last season and now it’s over the line, Brendan Rodgers’ UEFA Champions League squad is starting to take shape.
However with their European group about as tough as it could be, with big match-ups against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain ahead, there’s still business that needs to be done to help the Hoops reach their maximum potential.
It’s unlikely any signings will bridge the gap between Celtic and those teams, but a few quality additions could be the difference between besting Anderlecht and finishing third or finishing bottom again.
These are the THREE positions we reckon Celtic should be striving to sign for before Thursday’s deadline…
A new defensive partner for Jozo Simunovic
Celtic haven’t had much luck with central defenders in recent seasons with injuries taking their toll in both summers Brendan Rodgers has been at the club. Their three first-choice centre-backs have been out for some portion of their European qualifiers this season, meaning they’ve had to rely on inexperienced players like Kristoffer Ajer or players out of position like Nir Bitton.
With Kolo Toure, Efe Ambrose and Eoghan O’Connell all leaving the club, cover is minimal and the Hoops need another quality first-team defender to come and compete for places alongside Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko.
Celtic fans would probably recognise Jozo Simunovic as their top defender right now, a player ready to get the business done in the group stages of the Champions League. With Boyata and Sviatchenko struggling for fitness though before the opening games, even if they were good enough, there’s no guarantee they will be ready for the PSG test.
Last week the club were close to signing Ajax Cape Town defender Rivaldo Coetzee after a fee was agreed between the two clubs and the player had a medical. However that’s now fallen through due to him failing that medical and the race is on to sign a defender before Thursday’s deadline.
Reliable back-up for Leigh Griffiths & Moussa Dembele
In Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths, Celtic have two strikers capable of scoring both at domestic and European level. However, both have had their fair share of injuries over the last 12 months and going into a heavy schedule of fixtures with just the duo available to play naturally in the position could be a big gamble.
For periods of the season already Celtic have had to rely on winger James Forrest to fill in as an unlikely striker and that’s been far from ideal. The Hoops need a focal point and a player who naturally holds up play or runs in behind the defensive line.
Whether it’s an experience pro on loan or a youngster with potential who will be happy with limited appearances, it’s certainly a priority for Celtic between now and and the end of the window.
There’s an argument to be made for a streamlined squad but when honours are being chased across four competitions, you need more than two strikers, especially if they’ve already had regular muscle injuries.
A goalkeeper to provide competition for Craig Gordon
While the acquisition of a defender and striker may seem obvious to Celtic fans, less obvious is their need for competition for goalkeeper Craig Gordon. With just Dorus De Vries available to deputise, with both Logan Bailly and Leo Fasan leaving the club this summer, they’re just an injury or two away from full blown goalkeeping crisis and that’s before you even consider the form of Gordon.
The Scotland international hasn’t conceded many goals this season but a couple of the ones he has let in have been errors on his part, most notably against St Johnstone last weekend when his poor clearance allowed Saints to score at Celtic Park and cost his side two points.
Is complacency creeping into his game? There’s no need to panic, but bringing in a good young keeper that has scope to improve in the future could give him the kind of competition needed to reach his peak form and give him the focus to stop making the silly mistakes that could cost the team massively in Europe.