Brendan Rodgers has made no secret of the fact he feels the Celtic squad is bloated and far too large for his needs.
In comments made last week, the Bhoys boss suggested that he wants to reduce the numbers at Lennoxtown to 25 core first-team members, supported by young players coming through the club’s academy teams.
Currently, there are over 32 included in Celtic’s official squad list. It stands to reason that there will be significant pruning over the next two transfer windows.
That all starts in less than a month with the January period a critical time for the club to offload talents – either permanently, or on loan. But who is most likely to say goodbye to the Bhoys? Here are our top contenders.
Celtic defensive cuts now inevitable
Starting in defence, Yuki Kobayashi looks destined for an exit having not featured for Rodgers once since the manager returned to the club.
Signed in November 2022, the defender seems further away than ever from inclusion in the team, especially with the addition of Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke in the summer, as well as the rise to prominence of Liam Scales.
His contract actually runs all the way until 2028 so a loan deal might be most likely but he needs football and he won’t get it at Celtic.
Alexandro Bernabei is another who doesn’t seem to have much of a future with the Bhoys. Currently providing cover for Greg Taylor, he’s only managed to make three substitute appearances this season despite having a full pre-season to impress Rodgers.
With Celtic hopefully in the market for a new left-back, it’s hard to see where Bernabei fits in moving forward.
Meanwhile, Nat Phillips is set to return to Liverpool. His loan arrival from Anfield was only ever intended to be short-term emergency cover after injuries and the deal was only made until the January period. It doesn’t make much sense to keep him around with plenty of defenders on the books.
Celtic midfield will see changes too
James McCarthy is still officially on the books at Celtic but it’s become clear he has no future at the club. Rodgers pretty much confirmed that publicly in August. While an eventual move didn’t come before the transfer window closed he hasn’t been seen in training at Lennoxtown and wasn’t even included in the squad photo for the season.
Meanwhile, Yosuke Ideguchi may have had an impressive season in Japan but it seems doubtful he’ll return to Glasgow to make an impact. Reports from Japan indicate his loan club are in talks with Celtic to make his move permanent and that is the most likely scenario at this point.
As long as David Turnbull doesn’t put pen to paper on a new contract, it looks a good bet that he will end up leaving Celtic in January, too. He can sign a pre-contract at any club from next month onwards and hasn’t given an indication he will be extending his stay at the Scottish champions.
He’s contributed more than most on this list throughout the season, scoring 7 goals from 15 appearances but next month will be the last opportunity for Celtic to receive any fee for him.
Rocco Vata is another who could end up leaving shortly. He can also sign a pre-contract soon and has been firmly reduced to B team duties this season despite an initial senior squad breakthrough under Ange Postecoglou.
Potential loan deals are also in the offing
Stephen Welsh signed a new Celtic contract in August so a permanent exit looks unlikely but after injury issues impacted his chances of match action, he could do with a loan move somewhere to find his feet again.
Marco Tilio is barely getting any minutes either and it makes little sense for him to sit on the sidelines at Celtic when he could make an impact elsewhere on loan in the Scottish Premiership, getting him used to the league and what’s needed to perform here.
Not all of the exits listed here will come off. Recruitment in and out of the club is a tricky, complicated business. However, it’s clear major change is on the way and these players will be seriously considering the road ahead in their careers.
In other news, The noises coming out of Celtic training about Tomoki Iwata bode well.
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