[LIST]
[]Hopes to get 2 or 3 players in this January
[]Said keeping the balance of the squad is more important than bringing players in
[]A deal is in place with City for Guidetti (rumoured to be £3m), it’s just a matter of covincing him to sign which Ronny has held a positive outlook from day one
[]Said they could be loans with the option to buy or permanent deal
[*]We’re also looking at players in Scotland
[/LIST]
To me it would seem that we won’t be losing any players who have secured their first team places at the minute, which would mean that Van Dijk will be staying until the summer at least. I’d expect players who have been on the fringe of things to move on - this would mean the likes of Berget, Commons, Kayal and possibly some of the following group (Rogic, Griffiths and Boerrigter) if they can prove their fitness to suitors and are willing to push through a move.
I think we could do with 2 central midfielders and a centre back. Johansen really seems to have excelled in a more advanced role of late so for the deeper positions we have Bitton, Brown and Mulgrew - I think we need one here. Stuart Armstrong has also been linked so he would look like to me a direct replacement to Commons as I think he is best suited to the role Johansen now occupies but like Johansen, he is well capable of dropping back into a deeper role.
Denayer is still very raw and I’d like to see another centre back brought in to partner Van Dijk.
Our signings last Summer were thankfully mostly loans going on their success so far. Berget’s loan is up in January, a nothing player. In fact hopefully we can get rid of Tonev as well. Wakaso is constantly injured and has a good shot on him but seems to struggle with basic technique, a £5m fee was rumoured in the Summer if we take up our option to sign him, so no chance of that.
Out (Ideally)
Berget
Tonev
Boerrigter
Kayal
Guidetti will be signed I feel, the board know they will be crucified if they have this chance and mess it up tbh.
I think we are near our loan maximum for the season though @Il Bomber Destro? Maybe we can bring one more in, but the rest would need to be permanent deals.
Berget will be gone so that should free up one loan slot. Should Guidetti become a permanent signing then that would be another slot free. Or is it that you are allowed a given amount throughout the season?
Tonev is a player who I think has potential, needs a run of games though. Wakaso is another one who has shown in flashes - again he needs to get a run of games together. Can’t see us spending more than £2m on Wakaso though.
I think you are only allowed five over the course of a season, but could be wrong. Not been impressed with Tonev, don’t see him ever being a regular starter for us. Disappointed with how McGregor has gone as the season goes on, think his early season start was really masked over by a few goals anyway, and doesn’t even play on the wing where hes meant to be. Forrest’s return as slow as it has been has been like a new signing in effect.
What I do think is a crucial point for Celtic in the transfer market nowadays is that due to our most important games of the season happening in July/August we need to be prepared for them by doing most of our business the previous January allowing players the time to adjust and get ready to Ronnie’s system. Otherwise we are left running around panic buying in June/July or else waiting till the very end of the window with players only choosing us if we have CL football…
Sign at least one defensive minded central midfielder
I’m not particularly convinced on any of the loan signings. Wakaso and Tonev have both looked promising enough in games but neither has set the world alight. I don’t think we need both anyway. Berget is written off already. No point in keeping him.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see VVD go if a decent bid comes in for him. Just hope we’ve identified possible replacements and we aren’t scrambling around at the end of August looking to replace someone who we all know is leaving.
IKECHI Anya could be on Ronny Deila’s shopping list in January as the Celtic boss looks to strengthen his squad ahead of the Europa League knockout stages. The Sun are reporting that Deila is believed to be a ‘huge fan’ of the Scotland winger.
Anya has reportedly been on Celtic’s radar since Neil Lennon’s tenure, but it is his performances for Scotland that have impressed Deila.
With the Glasgow-born Anya entering the last 18 months of his contract with Championship outfit Watford, Celtic are keeping tabs on the situation.
Deila could be severely short of wide options come January, with Mubarak Wakaso on Africa Cup of Nations duty, Jo Inge Berget expected to head back to Cardiff and Aleksandar Tonev’s future in some doubt.
And the Norwegian gaffer has promised to do all he can to ensure James Forrest remains injury-free.
Anya, who can operate on the left and the right, hasn’t been a regular starter for the Vicarage Road side this season, and would likely jump at the chance of European football and a return to his hometown.
I like Anya but I feel he’s not worth what we’d end up having to pay. We’ve been linked with 19 yr old left back Stephen Hendre from Hamilton who already has a century of professional appearances for them. A move to Celtic could well be his big break.
@starryplough Do you think the purse strings have been opened a little for delia? He is proving an inspired choice, in my opinion at least. They seem to be playing better by the week, but he seems to have more room for manoeuvre in the transfer market than I feared, or is he just marshalling his resources shrewdly?
Or am I being wildly over-optimistic?
One worry is that giudetti will be snapped back up by a major player (major wage payer) if he continues his upward curve.
[QUOTE=“flattythehurdler, post: 1059120, member: 1170”]@starryplough Do you think the purse strings have been opened a little for delia? He is proving an inspired choice, in my opinion at least. They seem to be playing better by the week, but he seems to have more room for manoeuvre in the transfer market than I feared, or is he just marshalling his resources shrewdly?
Or am I being wildly over-optimistic?
One worry is that giudetti will be snapped back up by a major player (major wage payer) if he continues his upward curve.[/QUOTE]
We’ve only paid money for Scepovic since he took over. The wage bill has stayed more or less consistent with the ins and outs and we also cashed in on Forster.
Anya has also had a hell of a lot of clubs for a 26 year old, and I’m not quite sure he has really been amazing at any of them, we need someone to come in and be better than what we have on the wings now, not someone that may develop. We certainly need an understudy to Izzy at left full its a joke he has to play every game, Sinclair would have been a bit of good business in the Summer but we didn’t go after him.
[QUOTE=“flattythehurdler, post: 1059120, member: 1170”]@starryplough Do you think the purse strings have been opened a little for delia? He is proving an inspired choice, in my opinion at least. They seem to be playing better by the week, but he seems to have more room for manoeuvre in the transfer market than I feared, or is he just marshalling his resources shrewdly?
Or am I being wildly over-optimistic?
One worry is that giudetti will be snapped back up by a major player (major wage payer) if he continues his upward curve.[/QUOTE]
I thought it was ridiculous how Deila was left in the Summer relying on free contracts and loans. It appears now that the board are willing to back him with the rumoured £2-3m they will offer to Man City for Guidetti. If this Ronnie project is the way we are going the man deserves some time and money to give it his best shot. I think it takes all Celtic managers a while to adapt to the situation of being the top club in Scotland expected to win every week, and then adapting to European football as well. Lennon and other managers prior to him changed their systems to suit the opponent, whereas Ronnie appears to be more focused on the system itself no matter who we play. The football has been hit and miss at times but is definitely on the rise the past couple of months now that he has identified a number of key players to fit his system and certain other players are dropped or not used at all.
As I posted recently this window is a big one for our European campaign next season so I really hope he is backed fully by the board.
We’ve been linked with a raft of midfielders now - McGinn, Armstrong, Eikrem. We’re also meant to have Michael Duffy on another trial and some Portuguese lad from Everton as well (both midfielders). McGinn is the one I like most, he reminds me of an awful lot of the maestro, don’t know if it is his running style or what but the way he plays the game is very similar. Not really many defenders being linked yet but hopefully some reinforcements are in the pipeline here.