The 3 players Celtic will still want rid of after Boli Bolingoli departure

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Celtic managed to get some good transfer work done yesterday when Boli Bolingoli left for FC Ufa on loan.

Granted, it wasn’t the permanent move we all would’ve been hoping for. But even so, it gets him off the wage-bill for the most part and hopefully encourages suitors from Russia to move for him in the summer if he does well.

However, Celtic will still be hoping that this is only the beginning of the deadwood cull. Make no mistake, there are still 3 other players that Ange Postecoglou will want out the exit door in the coming weeks. With transfer windows across Europe still open for business, there could still be scope to do some deals for the players who clearly hve no future under the manager.

The first, of course, being Vasilis Barkas. The Greek was linked in January with a move to Swedish side IFK Gothenburg [Scottish Sun]. He’s only made 1 matchday squad in 2022 and is currently behind Joe Hart and Scott Bain in the pecking order.

Swedish outlet Adftonbladet stated at the start of the month that Gothenburg were instead looking to move for Orjan Nyland. However, as of yet they’ve yet to make a move for him with the Swedish transfer window still open for another 5 weeks.

Barkas was one of several players Celtic were reportedly listening to offers for in the January window [Daily Record]. Bolingoli was another as was striker Albian Ajeti.

Celtic could still do with a few more transfer outgoings

When it comes to Ajeti, he’s another Celtic will still want off the wage bill if possible. He’s now fourth choice at best behind Kyogo Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis, and Daizen Maeda respectively. Joey Dawson and Johnny Kenny are 2 more who you would rather see get opportunities over Albian too.

It’s just not worked for the £5m 2020 signing from West Ham United [Sky Sports]. He’s no longer a part of Ange’s plans, and considering he’s currently injured, it could be tricky to get him a new club in the coming weeks.

Windows continue to be open in Sweden, Poland, Norway, and Finland with regards to serious options for our deadwood. Swiss outfit FC Basel were said to be keen last month, but newspaper Basler Zeitung rubbished the claims. Outside of that, it’s been quiet with regards to getting rid of Ajeti. He’s currently looking like the most difficult to shift with his stock at an all-time low.

Finally, Ange has pretty much already made it clear that it’s best for Ismaila Soro to head elsewhere. After a deadline-day move to Dutch side Fortuna Sittard fell through due to work permit issues, Ange stated there were still markets available [The Scotsman]. The clearest sign that he’s happy to let him go.

As of yet, there’s been no further reported interest in Soro. However, he’s only played 3 minutes of football for the club in 2022. The fact he’s behind James McCarthy in the pecking order really does say it all at the moment. The Ivorian’s time at Celtic is up, and he’s another the club would clearly love to shift on.

So Celtic’s transfer work in the new year hopefully isn’t done just yet. Getting Barkas, Ajeti, and Soro off the wage bill before the summer would be one less task to do during the pre-season window.