Celtic fans are expecting big things this summer, and there is little room for mistakes.
The past two transfer windows for Celtic have been troublesome, and the pressure on the powers that be is sky-high ahead of the window officially opening.
The date to mark in your diaries is June 15, because that’s when Martin O’Neill and co. can really get to work and clear out this declining Celtic squad.
What’s interesting is that Frank McAvennie has ‘heard’ that O’Neill will have a transfer budget of ‘£40 million’ to spend on players, as he claimed on his Let Me Be Frank Podcast.
McAvennie: “You hear all sorts of rumours, but I heard £40 million has been mentioned.”
Simon Houston: “For how much he is going to have to spend?”
McAvennie: “But then a lot of players still have to leave Celtic. You have to get rid of a lot of players, no matter what. I know you will lose money on some of them.
“But even if you get them out and their wages.”
What would be your one message to Martin O’Neill about Celtic’s upcoming transfer window?
The type of player Martin O’Neill will target this summer
Let’s be honest, the January transfer window was just as bad as the summer, but the acceptable excuse for O’Neill is that, when he returned following Wilfried Nancy’s sacking, he had little time to work.
This time around, he has the whole summer to work his magic, iron out who will leave, and then bring in the required players before Celtic’s Champions League qualifiers, starting on August 18-19
McAvennie is certain that only one type of player will be brought in to boost the champions of Scotland, and that’s signings that won’t be ‘bullied.’
The former striker made it clear that ‘wee guys’ won’t be signed, as O’Neill will want ‘big players’ with physicality and aggression.
Houston: “What kind of war chest do you think he will have?”
McAvennie: “I will tell you one thing I know. There won’t be any wee guys coming in. Martin doesn’t do wee guys. Big players. He likes strong and big players who go and bully teams, because it’s something we haven’t had for years now.”
Houston: “Celtic have been pushed about quite a bit. Particularly against Rangers in the last few years.”
McAvennie: “They have been bullied. Bullied against Rangers. They have been bullied against Livingston and Motherwell.”
Don’t be fooled by Dermot Desmond…
It probably might happen. Around £40 million will probably be spent this summer.
But it might only come via player sales rather than Dermot Desmond actually being pro-active and spending all that money that’s sitting in the coffers.
Arne Engels has been linked to the Premier League; there’s next to no chance both Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate stay, and then you have the likes of Kasper Schmeichel off the wage bill.
Either way, don’t be fooled by Desmond because he might go big this summer, but only dependent on what he gets from the other end.
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