There are three transfer deadlines Celtic and Hearts have to contend with this week: today, when the window closes in the five richest leagues, tomorrow at 11pm, when players need to be registered for European competition, and Thursday at 5pm, when the Scottish window closes. Smaller countries where the window closes later, can enjoy a few hours trade without being out-muscled by tiny (but comparatively rich) clubs.
So who are we up for? Dutch 19-year-old Joël van den Berg and Dane, Oliver Sørensen (24) arrived in Glasgow yesterday after medicals. Both are tall, mobile, midfielders and should be able to inject the kind of energy we missed so often over the last year.
Van den Berg arrives from PSV, where he was on the edge of breaking into the team, after the Eindhoven side cantered to the title last term. Sørensen left Midtjylland a year ago for Parma, where he played throughout the season but did not impress sufficiently for his new club to want to retain him. As we both know, we either have to be very early, or find someone who has not ticked all the boxes of an English side. Both are within development potential range, so fit the bill for Celtic.
Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone (33) will also be in town today to provide much needed competition to Viljami Sinisalo. Vil has started the season strongly (an indication of how porous we have been); I’m unclear which keeper Martin O’Neill will prefer. Johnstone played 12 EPL games last season but lost his place in December in a side which was by some margin the weakest in the league.
Cover is needed for other areas, mostly notably left back, where we currently have Kieran Tierney and a redeployed Liam Scales. The intensity of the season picks up from the middle of this month. It is not enough simply to be better than everyone else domestically, we need our backups to be able to complete too.
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https://youtu.be/SgHpKXZHsYM
Full Media Conference | Shaun Maloney speaks to the media ahead of Aberdeen (01/09/26)
Turkeybhoy on 1st September 2026 11:05 am
Never mind looking forward to next season.Just gluttons for punishment.Remember,AJ,Jota,should be back ,hopefully for the Oct,Nov glut of games.Chins up,pip pip.
#
Maybe the plan is to polish up AJ, and Jota so that they can go and lie on someone else’s treatment tables. 👀
In other news….
Maybe as we are obviously not cute enough to put a midfield shield in front of our 18 yd box, that we’ll apply to see if we can play wit 2 GK’s in our team at the expense of one of our useless wingers, Tounekti or Yang,, as big handsome Hassan will be better than both of those wingers put together? 👀
Hough knows eh.
Hmmmmm. 👀
https://news.stv.tv/sport/scott-mctominay-to-undergo-heart-procedure
SSN saying Geneitas deal is close
I note an earlier appeal for a big, pacey central defender. Dane Murray probably fits that description. Whether he is good enough to play central defence for Celtic is not so clear. However, he appears to have been rated by Ange, up until injury, and by BR and now MON. That would appear to be a vote of confidence by those with professional knowledge and responsibility.
I’d say, regarding Murray, with MON, it’s his height.
With Ange, I couldn’t say.
But, with BR, I think he was trying to prove a point about the need for more quality in defence.
I could be wrong.
The jury is probably still out regarding whether or not we have a player there.
CROFTCELT on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2026 3:19 PM
The question that needs answering is why isn’t he starting more games
Shaun in his presser today gives Dane Murray much praise
Has there been any outside transfer interest in Dane Murray
It is good managerial practice to talk up players within the squad and especially players who have graduated through the youth system
Shaun hinted at a rotational system this season, if that is the case Dane should get his chance and hopefully for him and Celtic remove any concerns
Preston bid £3 million for Kenny
The board will not turn that down!
Celtic in possession of one of Preston’s hands…
We might be about to find out how difficult it is to get transfers done.
Mheuka looks like an absolutely tremendous signing. Chelsea fans saying he iis a goal scoring machine. Well done Celtic. Front line now looks really exciting. Once Jota is back we have quality cover for every position.
Midfield looks like it is going to be similarly strong if all three signings are completed.
Feeling a lot more positive than a week ago. Starting to believe we could do ok in EL.
DENIABHOY on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2026 3:49 PM
One of the presenters on TalkSPORT who supports Chelsea was saying hes very highly thought of there and weve done very well to get him
AULDHEID on 1ST SEPTEMBER 2026 1:48 PM
& DENIABHOY
👍
DeniaBhoy on 1st September 2026 2:36 pm
Good luck to Scott McTominay: A statement from Napoli read: “Following the onset of a mild benign arrhythmia, Scott McTominay will undergo corrective heart surgery using a cardiac arrhythmia ablation in the coming days.”
*I had one the Friday before Seville, I remember watching that game thinking tat if I hudnae had one I would probably have had a heart attack watching us punching above our weight.
Loks like we are determined to get Gineitid.Can see it happening.Very strong in the midfield if it does. Electric up front.A LB will be arriving from Chelsea very soon.
Deniabhoy
Fine post.
The changes are immense,as you point out
In England,to us here its monies in a diff galaxy
HH
Sigh,if only.
With the addition of the two midfielders + Bauer and the Ox, and possibly the Lithuanian, making it 5, is it possible that any one of Hatate, McCowan, Nygren or CalMac could be offski?
Serious clubs don’t operate like this. 👀
https://thecelticstar.com/celtic-lask-collapse-mcgeady/
Mc Cowan and Hatate definitely.
*or “wan massive windae” depending on your outlook
—————-
i absolutely hate the transfer window.
i hate how unnatural it all is restricting opportunity, inflating every aspect of the financials, making non-football people vastly rich by having a big slice of the pie. celtic get the blame but the timeline is stretched also.
back in the day, nothing was better than turning up at a match, mid-season, and an unannounced player is in the warm up
michael conroy as an example.
others that just happened it felt overnight, getting up in the morning and a signing is on the back pages.
doyle, murdo, provan, the two franks, wee joe, then the 3 amigos.
lots of them.
modern transfers are rubbish.
Or the crushing blow of Dalglish leaving :( por cierto
Maloney was talking up Dane Murray, today. He really needs a run of games and I also think he needs to be more confident (something Brendan alluded to). He’s definitely really good in the air. I don’t think we have one truly outstanding CB, who would be the ideal guy for Murray to partner. CCV was the closest to that and hopefully he can get there again. Going by the Maloney press conference, we might be signing 5 or 6.
Por Cierto on 1st September 2026 4:42 pm
Or the crushing blow of Dalglish leaving :( por cierto
——————
was kenny not speculated that whole summer though ?
he didnt travel to the far east tour.
On the EPL money machine and how it is spread through the 20 top clubs I found the following:
The Premier League distributes the money through several mechanisms.
For domestic broadcasting revenue, the basic formula is:
50% equally
25% according to league position
25% according to the number of televised matches
International broadcasting is much more evenly distributed, although there is also a merit component
For comparison, the estimated 2025/26 central payments were approximately:
Position
1 Arsenal £198.7m
5 Liverpool £181.8m
8 Chelsea £162.6m
12 Newcastle £154m
13 Everton £147.7m
15 Crystal Palace £137.5m
17 Nottingham Forest £137m
19 Burnley £118m
20 Wolves £117.7m
That is just the share of the central pot money from TV rights and sponsorship.
On top of that you have European and domestic prize money, sponsorship, gate money, hospitality etc.
We get approx 6 million. The SPFL total is around 47 million, less than a third of what Everton get for being a mid table club.
It is mind boggling. We would probably be a 250-300 million a year club in the EPL even if we were just a mid table club like Everton or Palace.
i was more gutted when charlie then choccy left.
ziggydoc1
Agree,I had high hopes for Dane Murray when I saw him in the younger age groups. I know he has been unlucky with injuries however nobody seems willing to give him a run of games,time is running out for him to make it at Celtic
It is mind boggling. We would probably be a 250-300 million a year club in the EPL even if we were just a mid table club like Everton or Palace.
—————
the uefa financial stability report is good for these comparisons,
Premier League Turnover/Revenue RankingBased on the latest reported full-season financial data (2024–25 figures released by BBC Sport), the ranking of English clubs by revenue is:
Liverpool – £702m (€836m) / Global Rank: 5th
Manchester City – £697m (€829m) / Global Rank: 6th
Arsenal – £690m (€822m) / Global Rank: 7th
Manchester United – £666m (€793m) / Global Rank: 8th
Tottenham Hotspur – £565m (€673m) / Global Rank:
9thChelsea – £491m (€584m) / Global Rank: 10th
Aston Villa – £378m (€450m) / Global Rank: 14th
Newcastle United – £335m (€400m) / Global Rank: 17th
West Ham United – £232m (€276m) / Global Rank: 20th
Sorensen is officially here
https://i0.wp.com/sentinelcelts.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1000001990-1788278636.68.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1
Pre tomorrow night
Shaun Maloney presser
https://youtu.be/SgHpKXZHsYM?is=mvaZtju9lL_Pic7C
Copy presser
https://youtu.be/8uCXPvZCA6k?is=3VKRFGv5pUu2pda5
HH
Where are the 3 defenders we still require
Welcome
https://x.com/CelticFC/status/2094820448928169985
HH
Murray has had enough chances,need better,injury prone as well
Saint Stivs on 1st September 2026 4:37 pm
i absolutely hate the transfer window. i hate how unnatural it all is restricting opportunity, inflating every aspect of the financials, making non-football people vastly rich by having a big slice of the pie. celtic get the blame but the timeline is stretched also. Back in the day, nothing was better than turning up at a match, mid-season, and an unannounced player is in the warm up michael conroy as an example. others that just happened it felt overnight, getting up in the morning and a signing is on the back pages. doyle, murdo, provan, the two franks, wee joe, then the 3 amigos. lots of them. modern transfers are rubbish.
*aye but there’s also the other side that it stopped charlatans like steptoe going out and buying players to stop other teams like us from progressing or even purchasing said players themselves
“*aye but there’s also the other side that it stopped charlatans like steptoe going out and buying players to stop other teams like us from progressing or even purchasing said players themselves”
Aye but we could be doing that now to them! Mind you, Shankland & Devlin? :)) por cierto
Enjoying the Sardinian sun and even managed to catch Cagliari Inter; Inter are a proper outfit , professionally run and ambitious.
As I watch the usual shambolic close to a transfer window the contrast is stark.
Celtic have been a shambles for nearly two decades , routinely winning the league. However no real ambition to be in Cl, just hoarding cash for no reason.
Since 2009/10 looking at UEFA site we have had 17 seasons to be in the CL made it 6 times including some automatically. Thanks Brendan and others.
This with the new CL has cost Celtic tens of millions all because of poor financial planing and in case of the Bonus Thief sacrificing the team to payout on his financial metric.
I understand that KPI has been changed , not sure to what — maybe to a cash positive window for Clubs execs. The Board need to explain what criteria Nicholson/McKay are measured to as in the last 12 months it has cost the club £80M. They are just keeping their heads down and hoping nobody notices them. Although I did notice Nicholson twisted body language as he sat next to Desmond in Linz as the goals rained in.
In any other PLC even a small one like Celtic the execs are sent to pursue other interests ; Desmond doesn’t suffer fools gladly and changes direction quickly when a business venture is on the slide….so why not here ?
Celtic is probably his smallest venture and with his so called emotional ties also with the profile it has, it doesn’t make sense. He has keeps the blandest CEO (Lawwells puppet) in place , with a tactical beancounter that shows no business nous. These two being in place sets the tone and we all see the outcomes. Laurel and Hardy would be more effective.
I don’t want to talk about the manager after the humiliation of LASK —- we should be preparing a plan B. He bears huge responsibility for that loss. This season is a season too far — soz MON no sentimentality over the capitulation.
Finally, the stadium is basically a cowp. Atmospheric at times but not fit for purpose.
Am sure people can join the dots but so what….
Desmond , Board and Execs are killing our club and don’t seem to care. Board are geriatric and weak so get those guys. Execs clueless get that.
Still do not understand why Desmond allows the shit show to continue —- necessary change would actually be straightforward. Only explanation is that he prefers yes men and puppets with a non-existent board so he can play with his football toy.