Ange Postecoglou has provided a firm transfer message that the Celtic board must act on

By David Walton

December 2, 2021

Ange Postecoglou has stated that Celtic “need more” this January and has stated the squad still isn’t where he wants it to be strength-wise.

As the January transfer window nears, the speculation continues to grow surrounding potential arrivals. Kawasaki Frontale star Reo Hatate has reportedly decided that he wants to join Celtic [Daily Record]. The Hoops have also been linked with Spurs’ Dilan Markanday too [Evening Standard].

Indeed, Celtic still have plenty they need to get done in order for Ange to be able to trust his squad as a whole. Whilst some of the fringe players have come on in recent months, we’re still well short of quality in several positions.

The Celtic boss has been speaking ahead of the crucial window, and he’s made his priorities clear as he hunts for more additions. As quoted by the Daily Record, Ange said: “I still think we need more as squad-wise, we are not where we want to be. It’s only natural that we wouldn’t be. We’ve added 12 players and it would have been too much to bring in any more than that.

“I knew at the end of the transfer window that it still wasn’t enough. Nothing has changed although I’m really pleased we have managed to get through this period thus far. We’ve got a lot of games to go and most of the players are up and running and available.

“My view is that we can still improve the squad and we want to improve the squad in January and the club is supporting me in that.”

Celtic pressing ahead with January plans and the board must take action

It’s promising to hear Ange say that the Celtic board are backing him at the moment. But we’ve heard this kind of talk before. The proof will be shown when players start coming in the door come the new year. That’s when we’ll find out just how much the manager has been backed.

Looking through the Celtic squad, there are still a couple of additions that need to be made. A new first-choice left-back to allow Josip Juranovic to switch flanks would be ideal. The same goes for another centre-forward given we can’t yet rely on Giorgos Giakoumakis and Albian Ajeti simply isn’t good enough.

What’s positive is that the manager isn’t keeping his cards close to his chest. He isn’t coming out and saying we’ll wait and see and that the club will just see what opportunities come up. He looks as though he’s being proactive in his transfer hunt.

Ideally, Celtic get some deals done early before the winter break too. That would allow the Hoops to ease their new signings into the squad with a couple of weeks of training before a ball is kicked.

But the main thing will simply be getting Ange’s priorities in the door at some stage in the window. The rebuild is anything but complete even if a major part was finalised over the summer.

Hopefully, the manager is in for a productive month come the start of 2021.

In other news, Celtic boss delivers fresh update on James McCarthy ahead of Hearts