Going through the Celtic squad, there is certainly plenty of deadwood that needs replacing.
Dorus de Vries, Cristian Gamboa, Jack Hendry, Marvin Compper, Kundai Benyu, and Jonny Hayes all surely have next to no future at Parkhead. The likes of Hendry and Miller could still come good, but loan moves for both would’ve been expected.
But, in the end, only Youssouf Mulumbu and Lewis Morgan were shifted out the door on loan deals. The big Congo midfielder went back to Kilmarnock, whilst Morgan reunited with Jack Ross at Sunderland.
Some supporters on social media have been frustrated, however, at the lack of players that followed them straight out of Parkhead. With Mikael Lustig, Dedryck Boyata, Gamboa, Emilio Izaguirre, and de Vries all out of contract this summer, however, Celtic’s squad-fat will automatically be trimmed.
Added to that, it’s important to remember that Celtic need to find buyers. Why would, over the last year, anyone look at the likes of Compper, Benyu, and Gamboa and look to take them on?
It would’ve been more ideal if Celtic managed to get a couple of loan deals completed until contracts run out. But even then, clubs have to want them, and it’s clear that there wasn’t much interest.
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Outside of Hendry and Hayes, none of the out-of-contract players had reported interest in them.
Likely to be more interest in the summer
Meanwhile, in the summer, clubs will be revamping their playing squad and structure. Outside of those ending their contracts, the Hoops can still find a larger pool of club looking to take their outcasts on.
But most importantly – a clear-out wasn’t essential this month, but instead sometime soon.
Celtic had to make sure they got in the targets fans were demanding. The club managed to sign the likes of Oliver Burke, Timothy Weah, Vakoun Issouf Bayo, and Jeremy Toljan. The club also recruited Andrew Gutman, Manny Perez, and Marian Shved. All three will go out on loan for the rest of the season.
All of these signings were the priority. Celtic had to ensure they managed to build up a squad capable of running away with the league championship. Now, it looks like they may very well have done.
If that came at the cost of searching for buyers for their outcasts, then we’d all be happy to take that.
This summer will surely see that clear-out occur. And that’s no disaster.