Celtic endured several near misses in the winter transfer window as the club ultimately struggled to get deals over the line before the deadline.
Notably, the Bhoys’ failed pursuit of a left-back will stick in the memory despite late advances in trying to bring Wolverhampton Wanderers star Hugo Bueno and Paris Saint-Germain outcast Lavyin Kurzawa to Parkhead.
Nearly a month later, new arrivals Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah settled in and began to show what they can offer across their limited time on the pitch.
On the contrary, there is an underlying frustration among the supporters that Brendan Rodgers wasn’t given more spending power.
Football Scotland indicated at the start of February that numerous players were put to Celtic, especially left-sided defenders, with some names making it up the chain of command to the Irishman before being discarded.
In every market period, there will be negotiations that go south for whatever reason; nevertheless, fans have been left scratching their head at a squad that is light on quality.
Jeong Ho-yeon explains why Celtic move never materialised
Gwangju midfielder Jeong Ho-yeon held talks with Celtic last month over a potential move to Glasgow; however, no transfer offer ever materialised for the South Korea Under-23 international.
The 23-year-old confirmed in an interview just over three weeks ago that he hadn’t ‘heard anything about a transfer to Celtic’ in the face of his name being mentioned in connection with Rodgers’ men.
Speaking to Sports Seoul via The Daily Record, Jeong has explained why he didn’t arrive at Parkhead in January, stating: “There was no official offer; it’s because I’m not good enough. If I had received an offer, I would have wanted to go to Europe. But there was no offer. I still feel like I’m lacking a lot, and I think the club felt that as well.
“I think I need to increase my value as a player this season. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, so I don’t have any regrets now.”
In his time at Gwangju, Jeong has made 71 appearances across all competitions, notching three goals and seven assists, per Transfermarkt.
Celtic will soon turn an eye to their summer recruitment
It seems crazy to think that Celtic will already be firming up their summer transfer options; nevertheless, the second half of the campaign isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.
Regardless of the outcome this season yields, it is clear that Rodgers’ squad needs a reshuffle, owing to the number of spare parts that find themselves on the fringes at Parkhead.
The Bhoys ought to have greater quality control on the transfer front, which will help stop the practice of stockpiling individuals who are not of the required standard to make the grade at the club.
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