Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers expects to club to add more players to his squad before the end of the transfer window, but not until after the Scottish Premiership opener against Ross County.
The Bhoys have already signed Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Hyunjun Yang, Hyeokkyu Kwon and Maik Nawrocki during the summer period, but fans are expecting more and are eager to see arrivals that improve Rodgers’ starting options.
Rodgers is pretty relaxed about the time left in the window to do business and, this week, seems entirely focused on preparing his current group for Flag Day at Celtic Park next weekend.
He said [Daily Record]: “I think it was important we brought some players in early on to settle them and allow them to adapt. I didn’t want to wait for people to go before bringing people in.
“But we’d hope we can add some more before the window shuts. Probably after (the Ross County game), there’s still a long way to go in the window.”
For me, the glaring priority is sourcing a quality replacement for Jota, someone ready to come in and be a consistent starter in the Premiership and UEFA Champions League. The Portuguese star was a massive contributor and while the prospects we’ve brought in may deliver over time, it still feels like that gap needs filled.
There’s also a lot of discussion amongst Celtic fans regarding the goalkeeping position and Joe Hart’s future. If a quality option then the Bhoys should be looking at sourcing a long-term replacement for him, too.
Beyond that, it really comes down to what Rodgers sees as the priorities after assessing the squad. It may depend on reducing the number of fringe players in the squad too with people like Albian Ajeti still kicking around as contracted.
But it’s fair to say business will be done, and the next wave of business will likely have a more major feel to it than the initial batch of players brought in early doors.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers delivers update on Carl Starfelt, Maik Nawrocki and rest of Celtic absentees.
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