It Seems That Celtic Are Looking To Make At Least Three More Signings After All.
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Heart of Midlothian - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - May 7, 2022 Celtic's Jota celebrates scoring their fourth goal before it is disallowed Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
As Celtic prepares for its first pre-season friendly tomorrow, the initial burst of transfer activity has given way to a lull in the proceedings. I can only speculate as to why, but I suspect that we’re trying to move some people off the wage bill before we proceed with further deals. For all that, I am of the view that we pretty much know who we want already.
And the surprise for me and for many others is that we don’t look as if we’re going to stop with the priority area of defensive midfield. We seem to have set our sights on at least one more striker and a centre back as well. That would be one Hell of a window.
But clearly, there are some obstacles.
To sign another striker, you’d ideally want Ajeti out of the building. To sign another centre back you would probably be hoping that Christopher Jullien can be moved along without any further fuss. I suspect we’re waiting to see how those things pan out.
It would be madness to do otherwise. We certainly have the money that we could afford to go out and do the business in these two areas right now, but the wage bill is the key factor. The wage bill is the one that has to be watched.
The new UEFA guidelines limit our wage spending to a percentage of income. I doubt we’re anywhere near to what that is a matter of major concern, but we don’t want to get too close to it for obvious reasons. We must forever be watchful.
The Jullien to Germany saga rumbles on. Ajeti hasn’t sparked any interest so far in this window, although rumours continue to buzz about a possible bid from Swiss football, where he initially made his name. People tend to forget too that Ajeti isn’t exactly an old warhorse; he’s only 25. The right move to the right club would be big for him.
The departure of Bolingoli seems likely. Soro is another who looks miles from the first team. These guys will all probably leave before the final pieces of the transfer jigsaw slot into place. The good news is that we probably won’t require transfer fees for them, simply deals which take them off the wage bill even if it’s only this season.
I think once we’ve got some clarity on these players, and their respective futures, we will see the final pieces of the jigsaw slot into place. We start our season at the end of the month. There will be definitely be movement in both ways before then.
Have you read Ten Reasons Why Celtic Will Win The League Next Season? Do It here.
How much do you know about our wins over Sevco? Do the quiz and find out!
