Trouble is brewing at Celtic Park, and time is running out to fix it. What should have been a season of consolidation has instead become a masterclass in poor planning and reactive decision-making.
Brendan Rodgers was dismissed in October following a damaging 3-1 defeat at Hearts, ending a tense standoff over summer recruitment and a Champions League group campaign that had already tested the patience of everyone inside the stadium.
In December, the board pivoted again, appointing Wilfried Nancy on a two-and-a-half-year deal. It was sold as a progressive reset built around possession football and structural change. It unravelled almost immediately.
Protests followed. Hearts remained clear at the top. The supposed long-term project collapsed in barely a month. After just 33 days, Nancy was dismissed, and Martin O’Neill was reinstated until the end of the season. Celtic now sit six points behind Hearts and two adrift of Rangers at the time of writing, despite remaining unbeaten domestically since his return.
The problems extend beyond the dugout though. Performances on the pitch haven’t matched the scale of the club. Failing to score across two legs against Kairat in the Champions League qualifiers exposed how blunt this side has become.
Speaking to Gambling.com, a specialist for comparisons in UK online casino platforms and sportsbooks, one Celtic fan summed up their troubles. “When your leading scorer has only 11 goals by February, responsibility cannot be pinned solely on management. The lack of urgency, creativity and clinical edge has come from the players as well. I think it just needs gutting and trying again come the summer.”
O’Neill has made it clear his role is strictly temporary, with no expectation of staying beyond the summer. That leaves Celtic facing a wider reckoning. They brought in Tomáš Čvančara on loan in January as a stopgap, but everyone knows that’s not enough. The board are reluctant to spend, but sometimes you have to get the chequebook out. A new permanent manager, fresh recruitment and a proper structural reset may be unavoidable if Celtic are serious about restoring dominance rather than papering over cracks.
Here are five players Celtic could target to rebuild properly in Paradise.
Kasper Høgh
The 25-year-old Danish striker has been terrorising Scandinavian defences for Bodø/Glimt, finishing as top scorer in back-to-back Eliteserien seasons with 12 goals in 2024 and 17 in 2025.
What makes him interesting is his Europa League form, sharing the Golden Boot in 2024-25 and proving he can perform on European nights Celtic desperately need to master again.
He’s a penalty-box forward who thrives on sharp movement and instinctive finishing rather than hold-up play. Valued around £6 million, he profiles as a classic Celtic number nine with obvious resale upside. The kind of signing that shouldn’t break the bank but could solve an immediate problem.
Aurèle Amenda
Celtic’s defensive issues need addressing just as urgently as their goalscoring problems. Amenda is a 22-year-old Swiss centre-back on the fringes at Eintracht Frankfurt but rated highly enough to be tied down until 2029.
Tall, athletic and aggressive in duels, he’s a front-foot defender happy stepping into midfield and defending big spaces.
Lorient, Nice, Torino and Valencia have all monitored him, whilst Celtic explored a January loan that would offer regular games.
The loan-to-buy model makes sense here, letting Celtic assess whether he can handle Scottish football’s intensity without committing huge money upfront.
Ignacio Laquintana
Sometimes you need a player who brings chaos in the right way. Laquintana is a 26-year-old Uruguayan wide forward with Red Bull Bragantino, blending South American intensity with RB-school pressing principles.
He can play on either out wide or as a second striker, offering vertical running, defensive work-rate and direct dribbling.
This isn’t a flair player who’ll beat three defenders and chip the keeper. Laquintana is functional in the best sense. He presses hard, stretches defences and opens space for creators to operate.
Celtic don’t need another luxury player who disappears in tough away matches. They need someone who’ll run himself into the ground anywhere, anytime.
Felix Horn Myhre
If Celtic are serious about controlling midfield again, Myhre should be high on their list. The 26-year-old Norwegian international has been one of the Eliteserien’s best all-round midfielders for Brann, comfortable as a number eight or sitting deeper when required.
He marries serious running power with clean passing, smart pressing, and the ability to arrive late into the box.
He’s already broken into the Norway national team, showing his ceiling extends beyond domestic level.
Celtic have lacked that high-energy connector between phases all season. Myhre fits that profile perfectly and would give O’Neill’s successor a proper foundation to build from.
Jonas Wind
Wind offers something different to Høgh. The 26-year-old Danish international at Wolfsburg is a clever, link-heavy number nine who can also play off a partner. He offers aerial presence, but his real value is in knitting attacks together. Dropping into pockets, sliding through-balls and combining with runners around him.
Wind has a strong scoring record in the Bundesliga and for Denmark, which explains why Lyon are circling alongside Celtic. He’s out injured until March, making him a summer target rather than an immediate fix. He’d instantly raise the technical floor of Celtic’s front line, giving them a focal point who can both finish and act as a creative hub in tight games.
The Reality Check
Celtic’s problems won’t be solved by six new signings alone. The managerial situation needs resolving first, and the board need to show they’ve learned from this season’s chaos. But recruitment is where tangible change begins.
These players represent different solutions to different problems. Høgh and Wind address the goalscoring crisis with contrasting styles. Amenda solidifies a defence that’s looked shaky all season.
