Martin O’Neill has signed on for another year, but with Nygren and Engels both attracting serious Premier League attention, the squad that delivered the title on the final day could look very different by August.
It crept in with the merest whisper and went out with an almighty roar, as Celtic Quick News put it. The 2025-26 Scottish Premiership campaign was one of the most chaotic in recent Parkhead memory: Brendan Rodgers sacked in October, Martin O’Neill stepping in, Wilfried Nancy appointed in December, Nancy dismissed after just 33 days and six defeats in eight games, O’Neill returning in January to steer the club from six points behind Hearts to the title on the final day. Then a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Dunfermline at Hampden. The Scottish FA confirmed the double on 23 May, completing one of the most unlikely domestic treble bids in the division’s modern history.
Today Celtic confirmed O’Neill, 74, on a permanent one-year deal with an option to extend. “It is once again a great privilege for me to continue as Celtic manager,” O’Neill said in his statement. “Last season will live long in all our memories and to be part of that success has in a big way whetted the appetite to work again for more days like those.” The language of a man revitalised. The question now is whether the club backs him properly in the transfer window, which opens on 15 June.
Nygren: The Bargain That Could Become a Battle
The most pressing issue heading into the window is Benjamin Nygren. The 24-year-old Swede arrived from Nordsjaelland for around £1.3 million last summer and finished the season as Celtic’s top scorer with 16 Premiership goals and 21 across all competitions. He was named the club’s Player of the Year. His contract runs to 2029 with a club option for a further year, which gives Celtic a strong negotiating position, but Premier League interest is genuine and growing.
Tottenham Hotspur have been the most persistent admirers, viewing Nygren as a cost-effective wide option. Aston Villa, Brighton and Bournemouth have also been credited with interest. One supporter, speaking after the Scottish Cup final win over Dunfermline, framed the dilemma clearly: “Nygren scored 21 goals in his first season in Scottish football for less than two million pounds. Every club in England will be looking at that return and thinking there’s a deal to be done. Celtic have to decide if they’re selling or building around him. You can’t do both.”
Celtic’s leverage is real. A contract to 2029 means they can set the price rather than negotiate from weakness. Whether Dermot Desmond’s hierarchy resists offers in the £25-30 million range, which have been mooted, will be one of the defining decisions of the summer.
The Engels Question Runs Alongside It
Arne Engels is the second name that will dominate the coming weeks. Nottingham Forest submitted three bids for the Belgian midfielder in January, the final one reaching £25 million, and Celtic rejected all of them. Forest are expected to return when the window opens. Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Lazio have also been linked. An analyst speaking to Casinos.com, the independent platform behind some of the most trusted casino bonus guides and operator comparisons for UK players, put the stakes into context: “Celtic have two players who could each command fees north of £25 million. If both leave in the same window without proper replacements, O’Neill is not rebuilding, he is starting from scratch. The title was won with momentum and belief as much as squad depth. That can disappear very quickly.”
Engels started 17 Premiership games before injury disrupted his season, contributing directly to a period of instability that Wilfried Nancy could not contain. His ability to press from the front and carry the ball through midfield lines was one of the visible differences between Celtic with and without him. O’Neill will know that losing both Engels and Nygren in the same window would fundamentally alter the style and output of the team he has been handed on a permanent basis.
What O’Neill Needs to Build On
Beyond the likely departures, Celtic enter the summer with clear structural needs. The striker position was a persistent problem throughout the campaign. Benjamin Nygren’s goals came largely from wide and attacking midfield positions; the central striking role rotated between Johnny Kenny, Kelechi Iheanacho, Shin Yamada and Tomas Cvancara without any of them establishing themselves as a reliable first choice. Kenny, the highest-scoring centre-forward at the club this season, managed just six goals, largely on loan at Bolton Wanderers.
Celtic have already accelerated their pursuit of FC Aarau striker Elias Filet, the 24-year-old French-Martinican who scored 20 goals in 34 Challenge League appearances this season and won the Swiss second division’s Player of the Season award. Clubs from France and Belgium, including Genk and Lorient, are also in formal discussions. The competition for his signature is real, and the fee required to beat it may test Celtic’s appetite for spending on an unproven quantity at this level.
The goalkeeper position also needs resolution. With the summer window open, O’Neill and his recruitment staff will need a settled answer between the sticks before Champions League qualifying begins. Celtic reached the play-off round of Champions League qualifying last season before being eliminated, and the demands of European competition will test squad depth in ways the domestic calendar does not.
The Window That Will Define the Season
The Scottish summer window opens on 15 June and closes at 5pm on 3 September, two days after the Premier League deadline. Celtic’s season review published this week on CQN described 2025-26 as one of the club’s most extraordinary campaigns. Sustaining that, under O’Neill’s permanent stewardship, will require decisions in this window that match the ambition of the title win itself. The double is celebrated. The summer is where it either becomes the foundation of something lasting or the high-water mark of a one-season story.
O’Neill has the respect of the dressing room, the trust of the board, and a fan base energised by a title that felt impossible in January. Whether he gets the transfer backing to go with it is the question the next eight weeks will answer.
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