THE CELTIC squad is poised for a monumental upheaval in a summer of dramatic change.
Martin O’Neill may have led the Hoops to a fairly spectacular double, a highly improbable achievement according to so many who were too quick to write them off, but there can be no argument this pool of players urgently requires a makeover.
Kasper Schmeichel has already been forced to call it a day because of his persistent shoulder problems while Tomas Cvancara’s loan period from Borussia Monchengladbach came to a premature halt through injury.
Likewise, popular Mexico international right-back Julian Araujo who returned to Bournemouth early while, surprisingly, there was no business done to make Marcelo Saracchi’s temporary deal permanent.
The Uruguayan left-sided defender is reportedly already back with his parent club Boca Juniors, but there was no sign of his name in the squad that lost 1-0 at home to Universidad Catolica in the Libertadores on Friday night.
HAIL, HAIL…Martin O’Neill salutes Marcelo Saracchi after Celtic’s 3-1 title-winning triumph over Hearts at Parkhead on the last day of the Premiership campaign.
Centre-back Benjamin Arthur will also be returning to Brentford after his short-term deal at Parkhead.
There is no debating the fact the champions have suffered from dire performances in the last three transfer windows with poor investments while key players such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley and Nicolas Kuhn have been allowed to leave.
The double silverware was a welcome bonus – and a tribute to 74-year-old O’Neill, his backroom team and the determination of the players – but it cannot be used to wallpaper over the cracks.
A revamp is urgently required – and with the greatest of haste – and it is almost certain that two other temporary arrivals in January, striker Junior Adamu (SC Freiburg) and Joel Mvuka (Lorient), will not be offered full-time contracts to extend their stay in the east end of Glasgow.
There are also question marks over the talismanic Kelechi Iheanacho and former Arsenal, Liverpool and England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who arrived as free agents during the season.
Both saw their contracts expire at midnight last night and the Hoops hold the option of another 12 months on their terms.
WALKING ON AIR…Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates his killer goal in Celtic’s 3-1 Scottish Cup Final victory over Dunfermline at Hampden.
Someone at the club needs to make a decision soon on both players who scored some crucial winning goals between them as the campaign unfolded.
Iheanacho and Oxlade-Chamberlain were on the Hampden pitch when Celtic clinched the Scottish Cup against Dunfermline nine days ago where the Nigerian international hitman claimed the third strike in the 3-1 victory.
That may – or may not – act as some sort of indication about their worth to the team.
There are question marks over Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda, both subjects of bids over the campaign with Nottingham Forest willing to splash £25million on the Belgian playmaker and Wolfsburg coming close to luring the Japanese international to the Bundesliga in August with a £14million offer.
The under-pressure Parkhead powerbrokers were forced to resist the temptation to adding to the coffers which sit at £70million-plus at the moment.
The non-appearance of Reo Hatate in the matchday squads for the last two crucial win-ot-bust encounters in the run-in – the 3-1 title triumph over Hearts and the Scottish Cup success against Neil Lennon’s Fifers – will fuel speculation he won’t be around when the new season kicks off in August.
NOW YOU SEE ME…Michel-Ange Balikwisha makes his Celtic debut in the scoreless derby encounter at Ibrox in August – one of only four starts for the £4.5million recruit.
And what can we expect in the bewildering Michel-Ange Balikwisha saga? Bought for £4.5million from Royal Antwerp, the winger made only four starts in 14 sporadic outings.
His last appearance in the Premiership came in the 4-0 home win over Falkirk on October 29 last year in O’Neill’s first stint as interim manager in two decades.
Balikwisha replaced James Forrest just after the hour mark – and then came off the radar.
Odin Holm spent a season on loan to MLS outfit Los Angeles before returning to the Hoops in December and then moving to former club Valerenga whose season runs until December.
There appears no future at the champions for the Norwegian international defensive midfielder who arrived in a £2.25million switch in July 2023 and still has two years to run on his contract.
Japanese double-act, left-back Hayato Inamura and striker Shin Yamada, arrived in the summer, rarely figured and moved to Tokyo FC and German minnows Preussen Munster respectively, are due to return to their parent club next month.
It seems inevitable both will be on their way again – probably on permanent moves this time around.
COMING OR GOING? Johnny Kenny would like to know the answer.
Adam Montgomery, the left-back who impressed Ange Postecoglou during his two years in charge, returned early from Livingston after suffering injury.
The former Scotland Under-21 international, who will be 24 next month, has also had temporary switches to Aberdeen, Fleetwood Town, St Johnstone, Motherwell and Queen’s Park.
Montgomery still has 12 months to run on his contract, but, once again, there doesn’t appear a long-term future at Parkhead for the defender.
Johnny Kenny (Bolton), Stephen Welsh (Motherwell), Maik Nawrocki (Hannover 96) and Luis Palma (Lech Poznan) are also on their way back with question marks also raised over their first-team prospects at Scotland’s title kings.
The sooner Celtic appoint a permanent manager, the better.
And, while we look at the possible candidates to head for the exit, there has to be scouts working overtime searching for quality recruits to take their place.
The first leg of the £40million Champions League play-off is due on August 18 and we do not want to be scrambling around looking for new players when the fixture arrives.
Surely, we have learned from last season’s Kairat Almaty fiasco?
Remember, please, the old adage: Fail to prepare then prepare to fail.
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