Brendan Rodgers created room for incomings at Celtic last week as the club solicited several exits earlier in the window to trim his squad appropriately.
Hyeongyu Oh, Benjamin Siegrist, Gustaf Lagerbielke, and Mikey Johnston were among several fringe men who made their way out of Glasgow ahead of the deadline. Meanwhile, influential figures Matt O’Riley and Joe Hart departed for different reasons.
Ultimately, this has brought Rodgers closer to his ideal squad size of 25. New arrivals have bulked this out slightly, but it feels he has a far more balanced group to work with at Lennoxtown compared to the first half of last season.
Assembling a talented first-team squad isn’t straightforward. Patience is required as outgoings vacate, leaving room for new talent to freshen up the Irishman’s player pool.
If he so desires, Rodgers could have a brief window to continue his squad-building aims, with several windows in Europe and further afield still open for business.
The windows still open around Europe and beyond
Unlike the Scottish transfer window, which closed last week, several markets remain open for a while longer, offering Celtic the opportunity to offload peripheral figures if needed.
Belgium could be an avenue the Bhoys could look to exploit over the next two days. As may the Austrian landscape, which shuts tomorrow.
Meanwhile, sides in Poland have the same length of time to complete their business as their Belgian counterparts. Maik Nawrocki received interest from Legia Warsaw during the summer. Will a late reunion with his former club become a possibility?
Celtic are open to letting the defender depart on loan, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a late battle for his services commence.
Clubs in Switzerland have five days left to confirm new arrivals. Looking further afield, Qatari and Turkish outfits have until next week to rubberstamp the finer details of transfer incomings.
The Bhoys have sold players to Russian teams in the past. They have over seven days left of their window, while the growing Mexican market still has a week and a half before slamming shut. Former Hoops striker Giorgios Giakoumakis now plies his trade for Cruz Azul, illustrating the attractiveness of Liga MX.
Despite no apparent reports linking Celtic players with out-of-window exits, it is worth bearing in mind that there is still potential for movement on the outgoings front.
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