Is Celtic’s looming transfer window a bigger “rebuild” than many expected?

As so begins the January transfer window …

No club should ever do transfer business based on a single result, and we’re not about to tear up well-laid plans because of one game. But something has been niggling at us as a club and as a support for a long time now. In the aftermath of that match, more than a few people have suggested it’s time to properly lance one particular boil.

The plan won’t change much. But I wonder if the plan is a little broader than many of us believe. I wonder if the plan is what a lot of us think it is. Rodgers must be looking at the squad and must know there are one or two issues aside from the left-back situation and the wing. These are the priority positions, sure, but are they the only ones?

For a start, we’re bringing back Johnny Kenny, which confirms we need a finisher to back up Idah and Kyogo. We’re bringing back Dane Murray, but that’s because Stephen Welsh is going out on loan. Let’s be honest, Welsh isn’t going to play, and he wants to.

We know we’re looking at Tierney. We know we’re talking about signing at least one winger. But the jigsaw isn’t complete yet. It needs one more player and one more position, and that’s something the Ibrox game clarified. I still think this team is dramatically short of a ball-winning midfield enforcer.

I would be amazed—absolutely amazed—if Rodgers doesn’t also think so.

So, I wonder if there are going to be more changes this window than most people think. We’re going to lose three or four players who will be sold on, and we’ll probably post a nice tidy sum of money from doing that. But I also wonder if we’re going to sign more players than expected and in more positions.

Rodgers has to know that things aren’t quite there yet, that there’s still work to be done in this squad. We didn’t get it all done in the summer—there were too many players needed and too many positions. Although we went out and spent good money and brought in three central midfielders, the lack of one whose job is just to win the ball has been obvious for a long, long time.

We’re going to find out in the next few weeks, but I’d be very surprised if we stopped at a winger and a left-back. Rodgers isn’t talking like a guy who has only two signings in mind. When you listen to what he’s saying, he’s hinting at a bigger rebuild and a bigger window than just a couple of positions. And whilst I wholly understand that those positions are key, I’m starting to think they won’t be the only ones.

This is the time for it. This is the time to go out and finish the job from the summer. We’ve made a lot of money this year. We’re well in profit. The Champions League pot of gold is bigger than it’s ever been. We were revenue-positive from the summer window, and we stand to bank even more if we can move on the fringe players, which looks likely.

If Rodgers has identified viable targets, then this is the time to get them. There’s no better time. It might just be that those players make the difference—not just to ensure Champions League qualification to the knockout round this year, but to bed in the ones who can get us through those qualifiers next season.

We’re in a unique position as far as Scottish clubs go. We might even be in a unique position compared to most clubs on this island. We’re rolling in cash. We’ve made consistent profits. We’re in a position to reap the benefits of all the work done over the last few years. This window could be one where we really lay down a marker. I’m sure the manager wants to go for it, and the club has to back him.

If we add a ball-winning midfielder, a proper midfield Ironman, it gives us options above and beyond what we have now. It allows us to build a solid Plan B, which will stand us in good stead not only domestically but in Europe, where players like that are premium assets who can win you games.

We do have a very good squad right now, but it still feels a little unbalanced. Every now and again, a game highlights that imbalance. Actually, there have been three which stand out: the Brugge game and the last two against the Ibrox club. In those games, we could have used one of those midfield battlers.

It’s time to add that string to our bow. We’ll soon find out if the manager agrees.

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