SHAUN MALONEY expects a couple of hectic days before the transfer window closes at 5pm on Thursday.
Martin O’Neill’s No.2 wouldn’t put a number on the anticipated arrivals, but it already looks as though the champions have lined up FOUR new recruits – with others tipped to follow.
Oliver Sorensen, of Parma, has agreed his season-long loan deal while PSV playmaker Joel van den Berg, Chelsea’s teenage striker Shim Mheuka plus Wolves keeper Sam Johnstone are expected to join him, as CQN reported earlier today.
The Parkhead club have already signed frontmen Kasper Hogh (Boldo/Glimt) and Camilo Duran (Qarabag), playmaker Mika Baur (SC Paderborn) and winger Haissem Hassan (Real Oviedo) during a frantic spell of wheeling and dealing.
GREEN FOR GO…record signing Kasper Hogh celebrates his hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last month.
Arne Engels (West Ham), Daizen Maeda (Ipswich Town), Maik Nawrocki (RC Lens) and Luis Palma (Lech Poznan) are among those who have left on a permanent basis while the likes of Paulo Bernardo (Gornik Zabrze) and Michel-Ange Balikwisha (Gent) have agreed season-long loans.
As Celtic prepare for tomorrow night’s Premiership visit of Aberdeen, Maloney said: “There are some key positions that we still need a little bit of work on in the next couple of days.
“Hopefully, by the time the European window and obviously our own window shut, that we get to add that to the squad.
“We’ve got some really good players, but I think there are just specific things we need in certain games.
“The club is working really hard to give us those types of players and the four lads we’ve brought in we’ve been really happy with.”
IT TAKES TWO…Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill put their heads together in the dug-out.
The assistant gaffer, speaking to CelticPlayer, continued: “We’ve started the season pretty well domestically.
“We had a really big disappointment in Europe and it’s about how we can come back from that.
“What I would say is that off the back of that last game, coming off the bus, we actually got a brilliant reception from our fans before the Falkirk game, which I wouldn’t underestimate because I wasn’t quite sure how that was going to be.”
Maloney added: “It was a really difficult night in Austria, so to get that reception of the fans and within the stadium was really positive.
“What we now have to do is give them the performances with and without the ball. We need the same level without the ball and if we do, we’ve got a decent team.”
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