Brendan Rodgers is starting to fulfil his promise to alter transfer structure at Celtic

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Brendan Rodgers made it clear earlier this summer that Celtic would look to target established players this window to push on this campaign.

He stated when asked about his recruitment aims this summer: “Listen, we have enough — what I would say — development players. I think it is clear. And I love that, it is what I have done all my life is work with those players. But you certainly need ones that can come in (to make an immediate impact).

“We already have a number of those development players, so it is genuine quality we hope we can bring in across the coming windows.”

Genuine ‘quality’ isn’t always straightforward to attract in football; there are hurdles to jump through that complicate the process. Celtic are an attractive outpost for new arrivals, though competing with the financial muscle of other clubs across the world can prove tricky.

Nevertheless, the Bhoys look to be in the infancy of enacting a shift in transfer structure that could leave their squad in a dynamic state by the end of the window.

Celtic’s changing transfer strategy

First and foremost, Celtic appear to have adopted a slightly different approach to the window this time around.

Last year, Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Hyunjun Yang, and Hyeokkyu Kwon were announced fairly early as summer signings, costing just over £7 million.

Despite their individual talent, none of the the quartet mentioned have gone on to hold down a consistent starting slot in the Celtic first-team, with two having barely made a dent in Rodgers’ squad selection.

Notably, the Bhoys haven’t gone early for signings this window, playing a waiting game on new recruits as they take stock of the situation. Of course, this has produced fan frustration, but it also helps to minimise the amount of fringe players who may only feature sporadically over the course of a season.

Since January, David Turnbull, Yosuke Ideguchi, Sead Haksabanovic and Hyeongyu Oh have all departed, among others, saving valuable wage space and helping to add some extra finances to the coffers.

More importantly, they have helped to reduce squad size so that Rodgers can add the ‘quality’ he desires rather than having a surplus of individuals in an already bloated squad. He has previously mentioned his ideal group size would sit at around 25 players.

Celtic have begun to add established players to the ranks

The headline story of the transfer window for Celtic has been Kasper Schmeichel’s anticipated arrival, which was finally confirmed last night after news broke last week that he would be signing on at Parkhead.

Denmark’s number one won’t be a long-term addition; however, it is unlikely any signing the club sanction this summer will be on par with his experience and reputation.

Former Leicester City stopper Schmeichel has over 280 appearances in the English top-flight and is a Premier League winner. He has also earned 105 caps for his nation, featuring at four international tournaments.

Paulo Bernardo could return to Celtic this summer, with rumours continuing to do the rounds on his future. He would be a tried and tested addition following his successful loan spell last term; meanwhile, you could say the same about Adam Idah if Celtic manage to acquire the Irishman from Norwich City.

Burnley’s Dara O’Shea and Royal Antwerp’s Michel-Ange Balikwisha continue to be linked with a Parkhead switch, illustrating that the Bhoys are keen to recruit assets ready to enter the starting line-up immediately upon arrival.

Hopefully, Celtic can use the quality-over-quantity approach to their advantage for the remainder of the window, creating a competitive environment for squad places at Parkhead.