3 Celtic Players Whose Contract Expires in the Summer; 1 Situation Cleared Up

By
Aaron McGuire
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Liam Scales and Scott Bain
23rd September 2023; Almondvale Stadium, Livingston, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, Livingston versus Celtic; Liam Scales of Celtic and Scott Bain of Celtic celebrate keeping a clean sheet despite conceding a red card in the first half

Celtic will be busy in the transfer market this summer, or so you’d expect.

Celtic
Soccer Football – Scottish Cup – Quarter Final – Celtic v Livingston – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – March 10, 2024 Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi and Joe Hart celebrate after the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Fans are hoping for plenty of arrivals as well as moving players on who aren’t contributing.

As per Transfermarkt, here are Celtic’s expiring contracts.

Celtic’s Expiring Contracts

  1. Joe Hart – The experienced goalkeeper, who joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, has announced his retirement from professional football. This leaves Celtic in the position of needing to recruit a new goalkeeper to fill the gap left by Hart’s departure.
  2. Paulo Bernardo – On loan from Benfica with an option to buy rumoured to be in the region of £6/7 million, Bernardo showed promise during a spell in December and January. However, his performances have not consistently justified the potential transfer fee, making it unlikely that Celtic will exercise the purchase option.
  3. Adam Idah – The Norwich City loanee arrived in January amid tempered expectations from the Celtic fanbase, which had hoped for a more high-profile signing. Despite this, Idah has impressed during his time in Scotland, though Kyogo Furuhashi remains the club’s best striker. The absence of a buy option in Idah’s loan deal puts Celtic in a position to potentially negotiate a separate agreement should they wish to retain his services beyond the loan period.

Back-up Goalkeeper Mystery Solved

  1. Scott Bain – Contrary to some reports suggesting his contract was due to expire, Bain has secured his future at Celtic Park with a three-year extension signed in May 2023. This deal commits him to the club until the summer of 2026, providing stability in the goalkeeping position, especially in light of Hart’s retirement.

Players Who’ll Still Be Under Contract

James McCarthy, somehow, still has a year left on his contract. He saw Celtic block a loan move for the player in January, despite failing to even feature in a matchday squad for the Hoops this season and featuring a couple of times for the B Team.

James Forrest is still contracted to 2025, with Greg Taylor and Liam Scales’ contracts also expiring then too, but you’d expect the club to open discussions with the latter two.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Mcarthy big mistake panic buy not players fault but on top money with emerging Kelly won’t even be on bench no good at his time of careerer has to supplement to make way

  2. Very surprised regarding Bain as was under the impression that his contract expired in the summer?
    Throws a different light upon the 8 homegrown rule now, with competition to make up them 8 for CL is starting to get competitive now imo?
    Still wouldn’t like to call the Paulo and idah situation yet, especially with a potential 10M to pay on potential transfer fees?
    Still think we could be on the lookout for 2 better options for similar money imo?
    Both need a very strong end to the season to convince that they would be money well spent?
    Both got good potential, so a big decision awaits upon there Celtic futures imo?

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