The Daizen Maeda bombshell on Friday was the last thing Celtic fans wanted to hear.
Maeda revealed his wish to exit Celtic was blocked in the summer, with the likes of Brentford and Fenerbahce linked with the star in June.
It comes after a disastrous transfer window for Celtic that saw them sell the likes of Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah for a combined £23.5m.
But that cash was not reinvested in the way Hoops fans expected, and they are furious with the Celtic board as a result.
And Chris Sutton has now warned that with the club seemingly showing zero ambition to progress as a club, Maeda may not be the only one who wants to leave.
Chris Sutton’s Carter-Vickers, Hatate and Johnston warning
Writing in his Daily Record column, Sutton admits he wouldn’t blame the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston if they wanted to find fresh challenges.
The trio are some of strongest sellable assets in the current squad, with Sutton saying: “They knew Kyogo wanted to leave but had no replacement lined up. Kuhn was allowed to depart without others set to come in.
“Idah left on deadline day with no other striker in the building until the embossing late chase. Now Maeda is being kept against his will because no replacement was waiting in the wings.
“Celtic should have known there was a strong possibility of interest in a guy who was player of the year last season.
“They should have prepared for it. Celtic sign players with the understanding it’s about developing and selling them on when the time comes. They can’t even promise that now.
“And who goes next? Why would the likes of Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers or Reo Hatate hang around if they don’t see any ambition being shown by the club?
“It’s just another facet of a summer that has been so badly managed it’s on the verge of self sabotage.”
When are Carter-Vickers, Hatate and Johnston contracted until?
Such is the quality of Carter-Vickers, Hatate and Johnston, losing them in a quick period of time would be fatal for Celtic.
Particularly after a transfer window when the fans have lost trust in the board when it comes to replacing the team’s best players.
Celtic would receive sizeable fees for the trio, but would the club reinvest to avoid going backwards?
Carter-Vickers and Johnston are at Celtic until at least 2029 as far as their contracts are concerned, with Hatate tied until 2028.
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