Neil Lennon recently caused a bit of a shock when he claimed that Celtic’s ‘top priority‘ in the upcoming summer transfer window was a new striker.
His comments were a bit of a surprise. The Hoops have spent relatively big on strikers in the last year, signing Odsonne Edouard and Vakoun Issouf Bayo.
There also seems to be positions at Celtic Park which need to be filled with far more urgency than that of striker.
We look at the three positions that the Hoops must prioritise in the summer:
1. RIGHT-BACK
Probably the position in need of fixing most urgently at Celtic Park. There is as yet no indication as to who will be the Hoops’ right-back at the start of next season. Mikael Lustig is out of contract at the end of the season, and both Jeremy Toljan and Cristian Gamboa look set to leave the club. At the moment, Anthony Ralston is the only right-back guaranteed to be at the club next season. That situation is not good enough, and another right-back must be brought in.
2. LEFT-BACK
A position which could become problematic depending on the health of Kieran Tierney. Tierney’s injury issues could require an operation, leaving only the veteran Emilio Izaguirre and Jonny Hayes, who is not a natural left-back, as the players who can fill in for Tierney. A new left-back may have to be brought in who can give Tierney a much-needed break.
3. CENTRE-BACK
The Hoops do seem to have found the pairing of Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic as the first choice duo for next season. But with Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic likely to depart the club, another centre-back has to be brought in. It becomes even more of a requirement when you consider that Simunovic has had constant injury problems in his time at the club.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
