The discussion around Celtic transfers has been a major talking point in the build-up to the Scottish Premiership opener this weekend.
The Bhoys take on Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on Sunday to start their defence of the league title, aiming to make it four in a row by the end of the campaign.
Pre-season has been smooth sailing after a strong USA tour but the lack of transfer activity has irked plenty of Celtic supporters.
As Brendan Rodgers noted on Friday, the squad still isn’t strong enough for the challenges ahead despite the arrivals of Kasper Schmeichel, Viljami Sinisalo and Paulo Bernardo. There’s a lot of work to do over the next few weeks to fix that.
The manager remains positive about the overall transfer situation at the club though and has provided some context on why things aren’t moving quickly.
Brendan Rodgers on ‘patience’ for Celtic transfers
Asked in a media conference whether it’s a case of being more patient for deals to happen, Rodgers said [Celtic FC]: “I think the challenge in modern life is that – nobody is patient for anything. Everything is for now.
“It’s a knock-on effect, and lots of the Premier League teams are in America or travelling away. They are further behind in their pre-season preparation phases, away in various parts, like we were a few weeks ago. It’s only then – because you have the Euros – that all those players are out, so they need players that might be available later on.
“It’s only really when they’ve all come back and the players that have been in the tournament come back that their squad starts to swell. Then they can look at making movements from there.
“Those are all of the little bits behind the scenes that a supporter or some supporters might not understand. We know that the most important thing is that we do improve the squad and look to do that over the course of the rest of the window.”
Rodgers ‘relaxed’ about Celtic’s summer business
The manager continues to project unity at the club in making deals happen. He wants business done but he isn’t laying blame at anyone’s door for it not happening.
He said when asked if the business wheeling and dealing will go on right up to the last minute of the window: “I am quite relaxed about it. I know what I have always wanted. I know how we can improve the team. There are so many moving parts in transfers and it is not just ‘that player we need, we pick him.’
“It is not as simple as that. It is very complex. If it was only one way then I would have wanted to have had them in before now. Clearly, every coach or manager would love to have his players in where they can work all pre-season, bed them in and get them stable and then start the new season. It doesn’t always work like that.”
Until players are actually in the door with the ‘scarves above their heads’ then fan grumbling will continue. That’s the nature of football. Supporters care about the club being the best possible version of itself and that includes strong recruitment.
Rodgers’ words are noted, however. He is crystal clear with his desire to get good deals done before the end of August. It’ll be interesting to hear his verdict on the window when it shuts.
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