Celtic’s centre-back issues make Neil Lennon’s transfer comments a concern

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We’ll all have our own opinion on Celtic’s current transfer activity and on Neil Lennon’s comments on the window yesterday.

Indeed, the Celtic manager stated that he would be “happy” with the squad if he didn’t make another signing, also stating we are ‘well-covered’ at centre-half (Celtic TV). That’s despite the fact that we’ve only made two signings this January who remain unproven at this level.

We all hope that Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro work out. But even if they do, there are still glaring gaps in this squad that need filling.

Neil Lennon said it himself when he stated that he was looking to get an “experienced” winger into the club (Daily Record). Outside of James Forrest, we have no natural right-mid available.

But it’s at centre-back where our biggest issues still lie. Even though Christopher Jullien signed in the summer, we still need more reliable cover as we continue to rely on injury-prone characters to step in when necessary.

Lack of centre-back cover is clear

Outside of our first-choice partnership between Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer, our alternatives are Jozo Simunovic, Nir Bitton, and Hatem Elhamed. All three of them have missed much of the first half of the season through injury.

With Jack Hendry rightly sent out on loan, we have nobody else to come in outside of the players mentioned. Elhamed isn’t even a natural centre-back, and it’s more of a necessity that he returns to right-back than it is he returns to his secondary position. The same can be said for Bitton about him not being a natural defender either.

Lennon, meanwhile, stated that he would have to wait and see how Simunovic was before deciding on his availability for tonight (Celtic TV).

That’s despite the fact he only came through a routine clash against Ross County on Saturday. Even if he makes it, he’s still a doubt once again. We need more reliability than that.

Sure, there could come a time when all are fit and there’s a big battle for two spots. But that’s called competition, and it should be a good thing at a club like Celtic.

Right now we simply don’t have enough. If Lennon does nothing else this month, demanding a centre-back must be something he does do. It’s disappointing that we look like relying on injury-prone players for such a crucial period in our season.