Celtic have announced the signings of Aaron Mooy in midfield and Moritz Jenz in defence, strengthening Ange Postecoglou’s squad ahead of the new season.
The manager has now added Jenz, Mooy, Alexandro Bernabei and Ben Siegrist to his group of champions, also completing permanent deals for Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
It means Celtic now have viable starting and back-up/rotation options in every position on the pitch, as you can see in the chart below.
There remains plenty of time for exits from this list, of course, as well as incomings.
Indeed, many supporters would like to see Albian Ajeti be moved on, for example, considering he has barely featured in pre-season, isn’t in in the manager’s plans and earns good money at Celtic.
His exit could give the green light to bringing in another forward, perhaps a more versatile one who can also slot in on the flanks. Celtic are believed to be exploring attacking options.
Meanwhile, when I canvassed social media for opinion earlier, the big desire that kept coming up our audience was a combative and disruptive defensive midfielder who could help the team better deal with quality opposition in Europe.
There’s always a chance, of course, but with Mooy’s arrival it feels like we are now well stocked in the middle of the park, unless someone like James McCarthy makes way and signs somewhere else.
With shouts for another winger and even another central defender, there are plenty of opinions flying about.
The reality is not everyone will get everything they want. What matters is that Postecoglou gets who he wants.
I can see a scenario where one or two more players do arrive before the end of August but it might depend on shifting Ajeti and Christopher Jullien, who is also a first-team tier earner.
Overall, for this time of year, I feel like the squad is in good shape – with the time and space to make more tweaks available to the manager.
As always, the window is always judged definitively on the morning after the deadline, so let’s see what transpires over the next few weeks.
In other news, Timeline for Moritz Jenz and Aaron Mooy Celtic match involvement.
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