Brendan Rodgers recognises Celtic need some quality signings in the door in the closing stages of the transfer window after watching his team get knocked out of the Scottish League Cup today.
A 1-0 victory for Kilmarnock at Rugby Park means Rodgers’ invincible cup streak with the Bhoys is over and the hard work starts from this point to ensure major disappointments like this one are few and far between throughout 2023/24.
Celtic have seen key talents such as Jota and Carl Starfelt leave the club. Players have arrived in the other direction but fans are hoping that big signings are pulled out of the back in the last couple of weeks of the transfer window.
It sounds like Rodgers is, too. He told BBC Radio Scotland after the defeat in Ayrshire: “Hopefully [there is transfer activity]. I think you can see we need that quality. We’ve had quality go out of the building, so we definitely need that quality in.
“But the club will work very, very hard to get the players in that can improve us and make us better. That’s something we’ll do over the period of time between now and the close of the window.”
The Bhoys have already invested in the centre-back position so it seems likely that other areas will be focused on.
Celtic have been linked with strikers, wingers, midfielders and full-backs over the last couple of weeks, so it’s anyone’s guess exactly where Rodgers and the recruitment team think the priorities lie in the team.
Personally speaking, a replacement for Jota is an absolute must for starters. Hyunjun Yang is showing early promise but we can’t pin all our hopes on him quite yet, while Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada are blowing hot and cold at the moment – we need another option, a different kind of wide player who can really drive at defences.
Really though, the time for talking and debating is over. We need to see action and movement from the club on the obvious deficiencies.
It’s undoubtedly tricky to get quality players over the line, especially with many waiting on what opportunities pop up at this late stage of the season – but Celtic have very strong resources and it’s time to press home that advantage over the other teams in the country.
In other news, Dominik Livakovic at centre of wild Saturday night drama that banks Celtic extra UEFA cash.
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