‘Especially’ – Mark Wilson identifies the position Celtic should look to strengthen in January

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Celtic are hard at work in the January transfer window with arrivals on the agenda for Brendan Rodgers to bolster his current pool of options.

Notably, the Bhoys are in talks over a pre-contract for Kieran Tierney and could have a deal sewed up for the Scotland international by next week.

Further up the field, Celtic are in the market for two wingers to offer fresh ideas behind Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda. Luis Palma could leave in January, while James Forrest has been sidelined for several weeks.

Despite less talk surrounding the engine room, the Hoops are keeping tabs on Burnley’s Josh Brownhill as his contract situation at Turf Moor remains unresolved.

Movement is expected as the Bhoys gear up for the second half of the campaign, and Mark Wilson has his verdict on where the reigning champions should strengthen.

Mark Wilson urges Celtic to sign a sitting midfielder

Speaking on Open Goal, Wilson made it clear that he would like to see Celtic sign a sitting midfielder to provide cover for club captain Callum McGregor.

He said: “A sitter, I seen some people say that yesterday, somebody more robust. I’ve said that for a couple of years now, especially in the Champions League where I thought McGregor just needed help in there, not that he would replace McGregor.

“But they always want to play with the two eights to get forward. I wouldn’t think it’s a bad shout, but they’re hard to come by that are decent, that’s not a project.

“I think Celtic fans are a wee bit sick of projects coming in now; they want (tried and tested players).”

Celtic have a patchy record with defensive midfielders

In recent years, Kouassi Eboue, Oliver Abilgaard, and Hyeokkyu Kwon come to mind as sitting midfielders who have been brought to Celtic and haven’t really made their mark.

Nir Bitton was a long-serving asset that would help to share the load in the deepest-lying engine room role, but there is definitely room for someone to make the slot their own should the Bhoys dip into the market.

Ultimately, any pursuit would come down to potential quality available. Rodgers has clarified in the past that he won’t sign players for the sake of it, so don’t expect him to act unless he is sure the club would reap rewards.