ADAM IDAH completed his £9.5million permanent move to Celtic from Norwich City after the champions had played their first two Premiership games of last season.
Brendan Rodgers had to wait until deadline day before he could welcome £18million worth of new Bhoys in the shape of record signing Arne Engels, the £11m Belgian playmaker from Augsburg, Auston Trusty, £6m USA international central defender from Sheffield United, and Luke McCowan, £1m midfielder at Dundee.
It’s a marketplace where speed and patience are forced to combine as the Hoops boss puts the jigsaw together as he prepares for the rigours of another crusade.
WELCOME TO PARADISE…Arne Engels is delighted to have sealed his £11million arrival last summer.
Former club goal hero Chris Sutton looked at the annual beat-the-clock guessing contest – who is coming and going – and said: “I’m fully aware that Celtic will have targets who, at this stage, might not be available due to their own clubs not having made up their mind.
“Or agents are playing a waiting game and trying to smoke out the best deals, waiting to see if they can generate as much interest as possible for their client.
“Unless Celtic are going to start paying silly money, I’d imagine they may have to wait, perhaps even until the end of the window, for some of the key targets.
“But it still feels a little lacking to me at this precise point of proceedings and, at the very least, Brendan Rodgers will surely want the majority in his squad for the start of the domestic season.
“Having the unit functioning smoothly and working in tandem is vital. There are competitive domestic games before the Euro qualifiers, but Rodgers has been in this movie before and he is going to want to be as tooled up as possible for when they come around.”
IN WITH A SHOUT…Swedish winger Benjamin Nygren displays his joy. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
Sutton, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “Yes, staying top of the pile in the Scotland is the key. That’s the bread and butter and it always has to be the priority.
“But I stood five yards from Rodgers on the pitch at Tannadice on the day Celtic clinched the title and you could not hide the excitement he had about the prospect of going back into the Champions League next season and kicking on from last term’s efforts.
“Celtic got their pride back. It’s what the manager wanted and now it’s about building.”
The one-time England international added: “I can understand some edginess that has been creeping into supporters as time ticks past with noise on the signing front remaining relatively quiet.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s at full volume in the background as Rodgers’ recruitment team set about delivering the quality he wants.
“Benjamin Nygren’s sealed deal says as much. A positive sign.
“Kieran Tierney has signed, but who is the back-up with Greg Taylor leaving?
“Ross Doohan is in, yet the new striker who was wanted in January when Kyogo Furuhashi left will still be wanted. Other areas of the side to be addressed.
“It seems there is much to do and there’s too much going on the line for Celtic not to try and get as much of it done as soon as possible.”
