Celtic’s scouts are already busy. Hopefully it’s a good sign for the summer.

So yesterday, we found out that the Celtic scouts have been very busy.

This, in itself, shouldn’t automatically qualify as news, and it shouldn’t come as a great surprise. What might be more surprising is where we’ve been busy—Belgium. And there are good reasons why we should be.

Belgium is a conveyor belt of talent, and it’s smart to go hunting where the talent is. I’m not going to say the talent in Belgium is cheap, but it’s certainly cheaper than what you’ll find in the Premier League in England. It’s cheaper than in France, Germany, Spain, or Italy. Right now, it’s probably cheaper than what you’ll find in Asia, too.

One of the consequences of us tapping the Asian market so well is that more clubs are looking there, including those who previously wouldn’t have. They should have, because there’s still real quality to be found out there.

We can’t give up on Asia, and I’m sure we haven’t. There’s still value in that market, but we won’t find it in the second tier of the Korean league.

If we’re going to get serious, we should be serious. When you look at the number of quality players who have left Japan, moved to Europe, and been successful, it’s obvious Japan is a market we should be watching closely for years to come. I hope we lay down roots there and make that a long-term strategy.

But in terms of Europe, Belgium is where it’s at right now. And the reason we’re there is that we’re looking at a couple of players in particular—some midfielders and one very interesting wide player: Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

We were linked with him in January.

If I remember right, there was vague talk of him in the summer, but it never came to anything, just as nothing materialised in January either.

Now, though, our interest appears to be real. The fact that he’s just back from injury and doesn’t have long left on his contract means we could be in a strong position if we move quickly and decisively.

The fact that we’ve sent scouts to watch him suggests we’re very close to making a final decision. Hopefully, once that decision is made, we move fast—fast as in quickly, not fast as in relative to how Celtic usually moves.

If we’re scouting this league at this moment, then plans for next season are well down the line. Hopefully, that means that we do move more quickly than we have over the last two years to get the deals done that the manager wants.

But the fact that we’re looking at Balikwisha confirms what some of us have suspected—there will be no big-money deal for a striker.

We’re going to spend on a winger because the manager seems confident he already has his top-class finisher for next season.

I think that’s a good sign. It suggests the boss is now in charge, that he’s going to get the players he wants, in the positions he wants, at the speed he wants. It’s also a good sign regarding Maeda—I think there’s a strong chance Daizen will sign a new deal and stay next season, regardless of any interest that arises in the summer.

I know I sometimes come across as cynical, but I’m still a believer. I still believe in the manager and the process.

And if the manager is running the process, then the process will work properly. We cannot continue to do things in the slapdash manner of recent years. The manager deserves better than that, and with the money at stake if we reach the Champions League, the risk of getting this summer wrong is simply too great even for this notoriously lax board to take the chance.

I have to believe we’re going to get things right this time.

Our scouts are clearly busy, and they’re looking in the right places. If that means, for once, we intend to move fast, that the plans are in motion before the season even ends then there’s a really good chance that the boss will stay as well.

Make it happen, Celtic. Make it all happen.