Celtic’s January transfer window saw seven new players sign deals, although only four will be at the club for the remainder of this season, and only one of those, Vakoun Issouf Bayo, is on a permanent deal.
Bayo is a classic centre forward-target man, unlike Leigh Griffiths or Odsonne Edouard, who like to play in the channels. He has not played for two months, so it is likely to be a couple of weeks before we see him. He is here because of our Ivorian Connection through Kolo Toure, who is a coach at both Celtic and Ivory Coast. That being the case, the club should know more about him than most new signings, which should mitigate the risk inherent in any signing.
Since the resumption of action after the winter break, we have seen Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah fulfil the striker role, each on loan, from West Brom and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. Neither player is here to play the striker role long-term; expect them to supplement the wide positions after we return to a more normal compliment up front.
With minutes to spare, Jeremy Toljan signed on loan from Borussia Dortmund. This is a player who great things were expected from when he left Hoffenhiem 18 months ago, but Dortmund is a different beast and he did not find the move easy.
That’s not dissuaded many of his talent, which means Celtic’s chances of securing his services on a permanent basis are slim. I also believe the player is on pretty decent (cough) contract. He will not be here beyond May.
Maryann Shved, 21, arrived this week from Karpaty Lviv in Ukraine, where he has returned to stay until the summer. We moved early for Maryann, interest in the player was generated in only 38 competitive games. Players grow up on the football field and Maryann needs as many opportunities as he can get right now. With the manager having so many wide options for the remainder of the season, loaning him back to Karpaty was an easy decision.
Two American full backs were signed yesterday, Andrew Gutman (22) and Manny Perez (19), both loaned back to US clubs.
So all these loans arrivals, signings-only-to-be-loaned out, what’s the plan?
The top-level plan is to win the league, do our best to win the two cups and to give us the best chance of qualifying for the Champions League. Everything else is a consequence of this. Two decades ago, when Martin O’Neill set his mind to the same task, he signed talent who were at the peak of their physical capabilities. Many of those who arrived not only had experience in the English Premiership, they were top performers there.
By the time Gordon Strachan took over, signing strikers who were recently top scorers in England was no longer possible. Gordon took to Poland (as well as Easter Road), as we searched for talent in value markets.
Neil Lennon’s term saw the transitioning to where we are now. Neil found African talent, and successfully raided the lower leagues in England, but under his tenure we embarked on what would become one of the mainstays of our recruitment planning – loaning young players (Fraser Forster) who were not getting a sniff at wealthier clubs.
Many doors have closed to us in the last 20 years. There will be no more Chris Suttons, while competition for players across Eastern Europe is vastly greater than it was when we signed Artur Boruc.
The news is not all bad, in fact, significant things are much better than they were 20 years ago, most specifically, the development of young talent. Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest are more successful than any player Paul McStay and Aiden McGeady – and both of them were notable as exceptions for their eras.
The ‘Fraser Forster strategy’ – scout teams too distracted elsewhere to give opportunities to players, has been very productive. Olivier Ntcham, Odsonne Edouard and Dedryck Boyata all fall into this category (we’ll reserve comment on Daniel Arzani). We managed to get Odsonne on a try-before-you-buy loan first. During his loan he did enough to convince Brendan Rodgers to beak our transfer record on him. Celtic think this will continue to be a productive furrow for them.
Not all signings are Development Projects
Not all loans fall into this category. Some, like Jeremy Toljan, are here to do a job for a specific period. Development Projects are not the only game in town, sometimes you just have to plug a hole to strengthen the team.
There were choices for the right back role. Lech Poznan’s Robert Gumny was looked at and liked, but the player failed a medical a year ago and has not played enough football since a subsequent operation to convince anyone he would be fitter than Jozo Simunovic. Or we could have tried to find a nugget elsewhere, but Jeremy got the nod.
We sign a lot of players
Two American full backs on the same day we sign a German full back, “millions of wingers”. This has been going on for a while. You, me, Celtic and the players know, not all of them are going to make it. Football, for a century, has harvested talent, picked the cherries and cast the darnel aside.
I remember Martin O’Neill, flush with the success of his early signings and before his Ulrik Laursen and David Fernandez period, told us that every signing a football club makes needs to be a success. Yes, if you have the wisdom and insight, the luck and the money, maybe you can be so bold. But there is a real world out there full of scouts and managers who each carry the weight of experience of players who just didn’t work out.
There are formulas, some better than others, but we should know that just putting a Celtic jersey onto a player will not, and has never, made him a certain success. Martin would have been more accurate by saying ;You have to kiss a lot of frogs in this business’, just do your best to get some handsome frogs in the first place.
We have exceptional domestic talent: Scott Brown, Kieran Tierney, James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie – better than any Scottish team in 30 years, and we have done very well to retain them.
There is room for others to follow. The opportunity is there for Scott Bain and Tony Ralston.
As well as developing our own talent, we have cooperated with two of the world’s richest, Manchester City and PSG, to foster young players who are not getting a chance at their parent club. This is affordable, enhances the squad, and has helped achieve our football objectives.
We have five young players out on loan: Lewis Morgan, Calvin Miller, Andrew Gutman and Manny Perez, and Maryann Shved. The hope is some develop into first-team regulars, like Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie did.
That’s the strategy. Is it better than signing the best permanent players we can? Like you, I prefer the good ones to be tied down to long-term contracts at Celtic, but despite this, the answer is a clear yes. We need to work angles with PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Man City. We need to take risks on players with only a few dozen games under their belt. When an opportunity to sign a Ntcham or Boyata arises, take it. And we need to continue to do what we are doing with youth development.
Will it deliver 8-in-a-row? You bet your bum it will.
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Ruggyman got it right, we brought in 3 quality loans who are fit & ready to play, these are players that we otherwise could not afford, Burke,Weah & Toljan.
Plan is simple & short term, use these 3 to supplement the squad we have to try & ensure we win the League.
On the longer term, these 3 plus Benkovic, Boyata & possibly Lustig from first team will go at end of season.
Some deadwood like De Vries, Gamboa, & Allan will also go. Maryan the Ukranian & the 2 American bhoys will join the squad & hopefully by that stage Bayo will have established himself as a first team pick.
So maybe 6 players that matter will go, & Bayo, Maryan & the Yanks come in, whether any or all if these 4 become first team picks we do not yet know.
WE will hope that Tierney, Ralston, Arzani if he is still around plus N’tcham, Rogic, Kouassi & The Griff will be fit & well & challenging for places. We will also hope that our home grown stars like Henderson & Mikey Johnson will have developed further.
Then it is a matter of Brendan & his team to take stock & try to move on what we don’t need & bring in what we do.
That is the natural eco system of a Football Squad, players grow old, players get injured , players want to move on, graduates come through & we bring in fresh blood, things never stand still, some players will delight us others disappoint us but the Team goes on. At the end of the day it’s all about silverware & entertainment. So far we are having a glut of silverware, that won’t last forever either but we live in hope.
It is then a matter of Brendan & his team re assessing what we havecas
lUSTIG HAS PLAYED FOR US , 48, 46 AND 42 TIMES iN THE LAST 3 SEASONS.
42 TIMES ALLREADY THIS SEASON.
HOW IS THAT OPERATIONS CATCHING UP WITH HIM.
BIGBHOY @ 1:57 PM,
That is a totally wrong analysis, Brendan knew he was losing Boyata and had planned for it.
It was the Celtic Boards inability to secure the 4 quality signings BR wanted in early in the window that led to the fiasco (only one, EO was signed)
If we had a quality experienced CH in as BR had requested Boyata could have gone with love & kisses from us all. This was costly in so many ways and it was the Boards mistake.
I have no faith in this Celtic Board to deliver the squad we need.
Even by their own parsimonious standards they’re failing.
We are paying through the nose for loanees to patch up the squad – money wasted
We are told it’s about managing our assets (players to some) yet in May 2019 our squad value will be £40M short of where we were in May 2018.
We have lost £25M in UCL income this Season… is this squad good enough to qualify next Season? For me no, there is a defence that needs huge work, work that should’ve and could’ve been done in the Summer. We lost a £30M striker so we have an attack that needs experience, here’s were we’ll be in four months time…
Goalkeepers:-
Craig Gordon: May 2020
Scott Bain: May 2022
Conor Hazard: May 2021
Defenders:-
Jozo Simunovic: May 2021
Kristoffer Ajer: May 2022
Jack Hendry: May 2022
Kieran Tierney: May 2023
Calvin Miller: May 2020
Anthony Ralston: May 2022
Andrew Gutman: May 2022
Manny Perez: May 2022
Midfielders:-
Nir Bitton: May 2020
Eboue Kouassi: May 2021
Youssouf Mulumbu: June 2020
Olivier Ntcham: May 2022
Scott Brown: Jan 2021
Kundai Benyu: May 2021
James Forrest: May 2022
Ryan Christie: May 2022
Jonny Hayes: May 2020
Scott Sinclair: May 2020
Lewis Morgan: May 2022
Tom Rogic: May 2023
Callum McGregor: May 2023
Mikey Johnstone: June 2023
Maryann Shved: June 2023:-
Attackers:-
Odsonne Edouard: June 2022
Leigh Griffiths: May 2022
Vakoun Issouf Bayo: December 2022
As it stands, although it was a bad summer transfer window and we are facing huge issues because of it. This window was to look at a short term fix.
That is never ideal but for me we’ve kind of accomplished that.
So I’m going to enjoy the football to the Summer and hope BR’s Celtic swansong is even better than his first half season. I’ve got a feeling it might be.
Hail Hail
didnt mean caps/
BGFC @ 2.13
Oh yes he did — CQN Pantomime season
Good afternoon CQN from a sun drenched plus1 degrees Springburn
someone text me that Tom Rogic is out for 6 Months??
Anyone heard anything??
HH
D:)
I would not in any way claim to be a reader of minds, but I think I can see the logic of Brendan’s thinking. If I may be so bold, I think his finest attribute is how he develops young players, players who we wrongly thought were not up to our standards, Ryan Christie being a case in point. So to me, this would suggest that Brendan is here for the long haul, as he is getting young guns in to develop and see them win trophies.
There again, I could be talking utter bollocks, not like me!!!
KINGLuBO
Here is one of the very best Bluesmen, hope you like it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVIA1n5ng4Y
KINGLuBO
KINGLUBO @ 2:43 PM,
Would love you to be right but the fact is, although Brendan is one of, if not the best, developers of young talent in the business he is not interested in developing any more Celtic players.
The ones in the development squad like young Henderson, who I’m sure will feature in some first team games will be an exception.
The projects we brought in have gone straight back out… to me that suggest BR doesn’t want them near his already over bloated squad.
Of course Bayo is different, he needs an attacker and will have been fully briefed on this lucky young man who’ll get the full Rodgers & Co treatment.
Hail Hail
Nice to see the ET (Daily sales 18,000 and dropping like a stone) running an editorial line about our new right back which will appeal to their dwindling demographic
(estimated to be 93% stupid supremacist sevco fans and 7% Celtic supporting fearties)
Trad88 – fair point about 2 pts from 12 away to Livvy, Motherwell, Hibs and Sevco … but … our goals scored those games reads 0-1-0-1.
Attack a bigger problem than defence.
Brendan knew it would be when he sold Dembele late.
That area of the pitch addressed significantly this window.
Hail hail
Corkcelt
Have you been attending Night School? Your posts are first rate examples of what made CQN an excellent site.Then again, maybe les Miserables have alays been with us but I am allowing myself to grow more annoyed with them :-)
Will you and M be coming over for the Valencia game? Two weeks to go but It feels like a CL game in the offing.
JJ
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL @ 2:53 PM,
Brendan knew it would be when [he] the Biard sold Dembele late.
Fixed that fur you;)
Hail Hail
D66- TR out for 6 weeks
Well, almost fixed it:))
FFS The GeRRRRarrrd is having a news conference with his latest ‘hot’ signing Glen Kamara. All 50 grands worth. As Dundee say dont let that door hit yer erse on the way oot.
DAVID66 on 1ST FEBRUARY 2019 2:43 PM
Good afternoon CQN from a sun drenched plus1 degrees Springburn
someone text me that Tom Rogic is out for 6 Months??
======
6 weeks. Doesnt seem so bad now!
HH
Jim, I’m on sick leave for past 2 months, awaiting visit to Consultant so no traveling for me. Mick was supposed to be going with another lad from the town but I think something came up and he had to opt out.
I’d quite like to see us try 442 now that Rogic is out. We have a few striker options now.
Corkcelt,
Sorry to hear that you are not so well, T. Obviously, I hope good news comes from your visit to the consultant.
We`ll have to wait `till next season and, hopefully, a CL game for a proper catch up.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
Thank you Paul for an all-encompassing analysis of the squad and the signings policy, as an earlier poster said this is one of the reasons we are glued to CQN. In terms of right back we could do with a Cafu or a Danny McGrain, but I would settle for a Willie McStay or an Alan Sneddon. Will Toljan be better than Andreas Hinkel? He certainly did a job at the time, over three seasons, but moved on when he was still relatively young. Hinkel of course was basically coming after Paul Telfer who Strachan had signed, Paul T would provoke some of the strongest debates on CQN! The new right back should be able to attack as well as defend well but if Tierney is the attacking one of the full backs, then the new signing should be able to fall into a back three defence when we go forward. I haven´t seen Ralston play but credit to Izaguirre for having the ambition to want to play for the Hoops, he´s been here a good few years now and yet still people debate over him as a player, with all the cluggers that the Scottish league is full of. Tierney can come back all the stronger. But we are not in LaLa land. Hinkel did end up going awol, long term injury etc and the club had no foresight, why should we think the foresight is there now? I would like to think there is and there are certainly a lot of clubs who are operating this way. Atletico Madrid made a fair profit selling their loaned – out right back to Wolves in the window even though he had never kicked a ball for them. Are we going to gain the same foresight? Finally, if Jeremy is going to be earning a lot of geld, let´s see some of that German mettle, Paul Breitner standard at least.
What we don’t know at this time and it is a crucial point as we evaluate if it’s been a productive transfer window.
:- How much are the loan deals costing, the total package ?
HH.
Greenpinata, I think there is enough Financial expertise within the Celtic set up to evaluate the financial implications of what we do, I can’t see the need or the sense in any Supporter getting emotionally involved in that sphere.
The Football and the results are a different matter, if we win the League it will have been a good window, the Rebel Treble Treble, a very good window, this plus maybe the quarter finals of the Europa and it will have been a brilliant window.
The 64 million pound question is will BR still be here after May?HH
Naw Franny, That’s an easy one. He will and as we say in Cork, you can chalk it down.
Izzy could do a job next season as a back up in domestic games, i would give him another year contract.
Ralston extended contract
Tierney extended contract
Edouard extended contract
Ntcham extended contract
Ajer extended contract
McGregor extended contract
Forrest extended contract
Christie extended contract
Henderson extended contract
Brown extended contract
more poor planning CSC
SFTBs, thanks for your kind words.
Life has been busy for the lasdt few years, my CQN time has suffered. New beginning of sorts for me today, which hopefully frees me up a bit more. Thanks, again.
For every right back Celtic need I’ll sign two
Brendan Rodgers
For every striker Celtic need I’ll sign two
Brendan Rodgers
Corkcelt,
I understand what you are saying and I think the loan signings will guarantee us the league, and hopefully the treble treble which is the ultimate short term aspiration. I also hope for a continued European run. ( This is vital for raising our profile and attracting the quality players we all desire ) Anything which contributes to putting the huns back in their box will be supported by me.
However when the dust settles, will we see budget restraints on Lennoxtown and youth development, as our signing policy has so obviously changed.
This is the modern way in football for the present and I’m sure we all share a common goal. I just wonder if signing the likes of Scott McKenna would have been a better long term option.
As previously stated to TTT we can discuss further at the end of the season.
I have genuine concerns but I sincerely hope I am eating humble pie.
HH and keep well.
A largely competent window with a view to seeking 8IAR
Yes we no longer live in the MON era and loans are far more prevalent across all football. But as this windows quietly clicked shut, we still require a permanent experienced CB and RB if we have any real European ambitions and want to safely secure the holy grail of 10.
The stockpiling of squad (but not even bench) fillers just adds to the challenge.
HH jg
MADMITCH on 1ST FEBRUARY 2019 2:28 PM
BGFC @ 2.13
Oh yes he did — CQN Pantomime season
===================================
:-))) Look out, behind you – aaarrgghhhh !!!! :-)))
Every cloud has a silver lining:
“…BRENDAN RODGERS has a massive decision to make when he names his Celtic squad for the Europa League encounters against Valencia later this month.
The Hoops boss knows he cannot include all of his January signings for the crucial double-header against the Spanish outfit…”
With Rogic out for six weeks, Brendan can now name all four signings in the Euro-squad – yeahhhh !!!!
Good forward planning, that.
HH
BGFC
Paul67
Good depth and much missed realism in your article
Very pleased that the major issue in the side was addressed at the eleventh hour and deadline day is always the key for January signings where Brendan Rodgers signed seven more players than he did in his first January window. Robert Gumny is the same age as Anthony Ralston and possibly inferior, so I’m glad we moved on.
I hope the search for the CB’s is underway given that we are told they aren’t available, or do we stop searching when the window slams shut?
Don’t be a stranger in your own comments section.
HH
BSR
In BR I trust , loads in some out , we’re gonna win the league
safe home y’all, it’s chucking snow down in N Yorks.
Since Henrik’s horrific leg injury, have we ever had such a disastrous season with injuries. At this moment Tierney, Ralston, Boyata, Benkovic,Rogic, N’tcham, Griffiths,Kouassi & Arzani all missing.
Anyone else notice that when one troll pops up a few others appear shortly thereafter?
Amazing coincidence?
Good evening, friends, and Happy Weekend!
Looking forward to watching Kilmarnock defeat Hearts tonight and hoping that they and Aberdeen both win all of their February games, apart from the one on the 17th. Killie are generously priced at 7/5 so hopefully win enough tonight so that I can donate it all back tomorrow!