Few people know exactly what it’s like inside Celtic’s transfer business.
Martin O’Neill does, though, and he’s making his transfer demands absolutely clear.
Fares Ghedjemis is one Celtic target, with the club also pushing for an agreement with FC DAC winger Damir Redzic.
But the longer the window goes on, the more desperate you become – and it has widely been reported that the loan market is a priority for the Parkhead recruitment team.
Darren O’Dea knows the club’s operations more than most – he was replaced as Player Pathways Manager by Shaun Maloney in the summer.
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Darren O’Dea on Celtic’s January transfer business
Maloney is now one of the leading figures in the recruitment process, alongside Mark Cooper and James Bell-Walker.
For O’Dea, there is one major stumbling block for Celtic in completing a permanent signing.
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Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, O’Dea said: “They’ll be lucky at this stage to get more than three. My gut feeling at this stage would probably be two to three players.
“I think the priority positions will be: a right winger – we’ve obviously been linked with two today, so that’s not giving much away. They’ve always been looking at a right-winger.
“And, potentially, another number nine or another midfield player. It’s difficult, because Celtic fans have made their feelings clear on this, and I totally understand it.
“The challenges that Celtic will face right now, with signing top-level players or ‘wow’ signings, is that they can’t present anything to a player who would sign on a five-year deal.
“They don’t even know who the manager is going to be next year, so I think that’s why you’ll see them lurking around those loan signings and shorter-term signings.
“I know that isn’t ideal, but that’s where they’re at.”
The window will slam shut on Monday… here’s hoping that Celtic’s fingers don’t get hurt as they did in the summer.
Where do Celtic still need to strengthen after signing Tomas Cvancara and Julian Araujo?
Celtic’s January transfer window so far
The signing of full-back Julian Araujo was completed early in the window… but less than a week later, Wilfried Nancy and Paul Tisdale were sacked.
O’Neill then assumed control of recruitment, admitting to ‘discarding’ targets in his early days back in the job.
The Hoops had to wait for a striker, and if Tomas Cvancara can continue to contribute as he did in Edinburgh, he may be worth the wait.
But in the eyes of many, this has only been a start. Celtic’s makeshift recruitment team could be in for a stressful final few days of the window.
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