ANGE POSTECOGLOU was involved in a whirlwind FORTY-FOUR deals in this season’s transfer market.
The Celtic manager, however, dodged the eleventh-hour scramble before last night’s midnight deadline.
Postecoglou had already done the hard work in bringing in four recruits over a five-week period with Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi the first to arrive in mid-December although their deals could not be ratified until January 1.
THE MANAGER…Ange Postecoglou celebrates with the Celtic supporters at Tannadice.
THE PLAYERS…the Hoops stars – led by Kyogo Furuhashi (third left) – applaud the fans after the 2-0 win over Dundee United.
J-League Player of the Year Tomaki Iwata was next to sign on the dotted line for the champions on the last day of December. The Yokohama F Marinos defensive midfielder originally agreed a loan until the end of the season before it becomes permanent.
South Korean international striker Oh Hyeon-gyu completed the manager’s recruitment programme after sealing his £2.5million switch from Suwon Samsung Bluewings a week ago today.
The quartet of new Bhoys were added to the NINE who joined the title kings during the Greek-Australian’s summer restrengthening of his first-team squad.
SUMMER SIGNING…Sead Haksabanovic was a late arrival from Rubin Kazan.
WINTER WELCOME…Alistair Johnston agreed his £3.5million deal from CF Montreal in mid-December.
As well as 13 players being brought into the club, Postecoglou sold six which will be added to when Giorgos Giakoumakis’ contract negotiations are finally settled.
Eight players were released in the summer, including Tom Rogic, Nir Bitton and one-time wonderBhoy prospect Karamoko Dembele.
Scott Robertson left this time around to reunite with former Hoops skipper Scott Brown, now manager at Fleetwood Town.
Moritz Jenz and Oliver Abildgaard, brought in on season-long contracts from Lorient and Rubin Kazan respectively, saw their stays at Parkhead cut shot with the centre-back moving to Schalke and the 6ft-plus midfielder joining Hellas Verona.
IN THE PICTURE…Ange Postecoglou keeps an eye on the worldwide transfer market.
Over the two periods, 13 loan deals were carried out with young Irish striker Johnny Kenny figuring in two when he signed for Queen’s Park in August and switched to Shamrock Rovers last month.
Here is the full list of Ange Postecoglou’s activity in the transfer market for the 2022/23 campaign.
SUMMER DEALS
INS
Filipe Jota (Benfica), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Spurs), Daizen Maeda (Yokahama F Marinos), Alexandro Bernabei (Atletico Lanus), Aaron Mooy (Shanghai Port), Benji Siegrist (Dundee United), Moritz Jenz (Lorient, loan), Sead Haksabanovic (Rubin Kazan), Oliver Abildgaard (Rubin Kazan, loan).
OUTS
SOLD: Christopher Jullien (Montpellier), Boli Bolingoli (Mechelen), Ross Doohan (Tranmere Rovers), Ben Doak (Liverpool), Ewan Moffat (Blackpool).
LOANED: Vasilis Barkas (FC Utrecht), Albian Ajeti (Sturm Graz), Conor Hazard (HJK Helsinki), Liam Scales (Aberdeen), Adam Montgomery (St Johnstone), Ismaila Soro (FC Arouca), Osaze Urhoghide (KV Oostende), Mikey Johnston (Vitoria Guimaraes), Liam Shaw (Morecambe), Johnny Kenny (Queen’s Park), Ben Wylie (Airdrie).
RELEASED: Nir Bitton (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Tom Rogic (West Brom), Karamoko Dembele (Brest), Ewan Henderson (Hibs), Luca Connell (Barnsley), Jonathan Afolabi (Bohemians), Kerr McInroy (Kilmarnock), Ethan Mitchell (Annan).
JANUARY WINDOW
INS
Yuki Kobayashi (Vissel Kobe), Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal), Tomoki Iwata (Yokohama F Marinos), Oh Hyeon-gyu (Suwon Samsung Bluewings).
OUTS
SOLD: Josip Juranovic (Union Berlin), *Giorgos Giakoumakis.
RELEASED: Scott Robertson (Fleetwood Town), Moritz Jenz (loan ended, Schalke), Oliver Abildgaard (loan ended, Hellas Verona).
LOANED: Tobi Oluwayemi (Cork City), Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers).
* To be confirmed.
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Livingston tonight – only in your champion CQN.
