CELTIC were involved in £49.3million worth of transfer activity in the summer.
Now the annual January Guessing Game will kick off again as Brendan Rodgers seeks to strengthen his first-team squad.
The biggest bit of business done in the summer window was the £25million move for fans’ favourite Filipe Jota to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ittihad while Swedish centre-back Carl Starfelt moved to La Liga club Celta Vigo for something in the region of £5million.
Australia World Cup midfielder Aaron Mooy announced his retirement shortly after the conclusion of the historic eighth domestic treble.
The Hoops also collected modest fees of around the £150,000 mark for Northern Ireland international keeper Conor Hazard from Plymouth Argyle while Ivory Coast midfielder Ismaila Soro moved to Beitar Jerusalem on a two-year contract.
WELCOME TO PARADISE…Maik Nawrocki arrives after his £4.3million switch from Legia Warsaw.
Albian Ajeti, bought from West Ham for £5million in the summer of 2020, had his contract terminated as he signed a one-year deal with Turkish top-flight outfit Gaziantep in September.
The highest outlay was the £4.3million for centre-back Maik Nawrocki from Legia Warsaw while midfielder Kwon Hyeon-kyu arrived from South Korean outfit Busan I-Park for a more modest £850,000.
You can add £1million to the overall total which was the fee agreed for Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata when his initial loan move from Yokohama F Marinos became permanent.
Two players – Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo, recruited on deadline day, and Liverpool defender Nat Phillips – joined on loan contracts. The Portuguese playmaker signed a season-long deal with an option to buy, similar to the contract agreed by his former Lisbon team-mate Jota in August 2021.
The English pivot signed a short-term contract and appears to be on his way back to Anfield after failing to convince in his rare first-team appearances.
Montenegro international winger Sead Haksabanovic was one of seven players heading out on loan after agreeing a season-long temporary switch to Championship side Stoke City.
CELTIC’S SUMMER TRANSFERS
IN
Tomoki Iwata (£1m, Yokohama F Marinos)
Odin Thiago Holm (£2.25m, Valerenga)
Marco Tilio (£2m, Melbourne City)
Yang Hyun-jun (£2.1m, Gangwon FC)
Kwon Hyeon-kyu (£850,000, Busan I-Park)
Maik Nawrocki (£4.3m, Legia Warsaw)
Gustaf Lagerbiekle (£3m, Elfsborg)
Luis Palma (£3.5m, Aris Thessaloniki)
Nat Phillips (loan, Liverpool)
Paulo Bernardo (loan, Benfica)
FAREWELL…Filipe Jota after sealing his £25million switch to Saudi Arabia.
OUT
Filipe Jota (£25m, Al-Ittihad)
Carl Starfelt (£5m, Celtic Vigo)
Aaron Mooy (retired)
Ismaila Soro (£150,000 Beitar Jerusalem)
Conor Hazard (£150,000, Plymouth Argyle)
Vasilis Barkas (FC Utrecht, free)
Osaze Urhoghide (Amiens, free)
Albian Ajeti (Gaziantemp, free)
Adam Montgomery (Fleetwood Town, loan)
Bosun Lawal (Fleetwood Town, loan)
Liam Shaw (Wigan, loan)
Sead Haksabanovic (Stoke City, loan)
Ben Summers (Dunfermline, loan)
Ben McPherson (Queen’s Park, loan)
Tobi Oluwayemi (Admira Wacker, loan)
Matthew Anderson (Admira Wacker, loan)
* CQN wishes all our readers a Happy New Year and we hope 2024 brings you all you could hope for – on and off the field. Please take care, stay safe and be good to each other.
