Celtic don't need to do a Rangers this transfer window, but a couple of additions would make sense

By Ruari Macneil

January 16, 2018

It goes without saying that Celtic has the best squad in Scotland, despite former Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha’s claimed earlier this season. That doesn’t mean, however, that the club doesn’t need to strengthen – especially if Celtic is going to make more progress in European competition in the years ahead.

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So far this January the Bhoys have brought in two new faces: Marvin Compper from RB Leipzig and Lewis Morgan from St Mirren. Morgan will see out the rest of the season with the Saints, whilst Erik Sviatchenko’s departure to FC Midtjylland has essentially cancelled out Compper’s reinforcement.

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Celtic certainly has funds to bring in new players, but the club’s activity this transfer window is in sharp contrast to Graeme Murty’s (some would say) desperate spending at Rangers, which continues to dominate the headlines in Scotland.

So why exactly has it been so quiet? Is Celtic planning on finishing strong in the transfer window by adding a few more names?

As it stands, with Sviatchenko having left and Compper ineligible to play for the Hoops in European competition this season, Celtic go into the Europe League round-of-32 tie against Roberto Mancini’s Zenit St Petersburg minus a centre-back option. On top of this, Stuart Armstrong was recently confirmed to be out for a number of weeks following a shock hernia operation. It’s believed the 25-year-old will miss at least 5 games.

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In short, despite the two January signings the squad in fact now looks weaker than it was before the winter break!

Of course, it is silly to compare Celtic’s situation to other clubs in Scotland. All other clubs are desperately playing catch up, especially Rangers – and as history shows – simply making multiple signings does not guarantee anything in return. Caixinha spent millions this summer and brought in half a new team. One window on and his replacement is doing the same thing.

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Celtic are in no need of an overhaul, but a couple further additions would make sense, especially in defense. Landing another centre-back option eligible to play in Europe wouldn’t go amiss. Neither would a full-back, with Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney as the only real senior full-backs with quality and experience currently in the squad.

One thing is for sure and that’s Rodgers will not be bringing in any fresh faces just for the sake of it. All of his signings since his arrival in 2016 have been extremely calculated. In fact, his transformation of existing players such as James Forrest, Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor have reduced the need for additional signings in certain areas.

There’s little doubt that the Bhoys will add a couple more to the squad before the window is out.

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