Places in the Celtic team have been made more competitive during this window which former Celtic star Chris Sutton believes to be a good thing.
Some Celtic supporters appear to be worried that with any new additions it shall mean less game time on the park for various players.
That’s a fantastic position to be in and former Hoops star Chris Sutton has emphasised that you can’t have too many quality players.
“Ange Postecoglou is clearly determined to keep driving Celtic forward. When it comes to having top players and excellent options, it’s my view that you just can’t have enough,” said Chris Sutton writing in the Daily Record
It looks as though Celtic will complete the signing of Montenegrin international Sead Haksabanovic in the coming days with a medical expected soon.
The versatile 23-year old is able to play a number of positions and will add another weapon to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic arsenal.
Many fans may look at the wingers presently at the club already which includes Jota, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada, James Forrest and Mikey Johnston and may think that this is a department which the Hoops are already stocked in but Sutton challenges that.
“But, if you want two to start and two to come off the bench on any given day to freshen things up in games, that means Celtic are still in a position where one injury leaves them short and unable to do that. Postecoglou has already gone on record to say that Mikey Johnston is not going to get regular opportunities this term and he wants him out and playing on loan, so, realistically, they currently have four.”
Haksabanovic can also be used as an attacking midfielder which the Hoops only properly have Matt O’Riley to play in after the departure of Tom Rogic in the summer.
O’Riley is still developing but is such an important player for Postecoglou so some cover in that position would also be a welcomed sight.
“One man is not enough. Especially if the club is going to be playing another 50-odd games this season and the Danish Under-21 cap is going to have regular international commitments, potentially even a World Cup in Qatar with Kasper Hjulmand’s senior squad.”
Sutton went on to compare the situations which former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers once moaned about as he stated that the club had a million wingers.
This may well have been the case but there is a completely different tack to Celtic’s transfer dealings under Ange as the club are bringing in ready made first team players that are hungry for opportunities.
“If Postecoglou is adding individuals of quality who can go straight into the side at the drop of a hat without the standards dropping, then the more the merrier, in my eyes.”
It will be imperative that the Hoops have a big squad this season to compete and be ready for any challenge but Sutton sees any further moves in the window as succession planning which is something that Celtic can be accused of getting wrong in the past.
“When you sense that you have big players who might be moving on, you have to be ready to replace, or even better still, have the replacements already there and bedded into the unit.
“In January, Postecoglou went into the market and signed Maeda, O’Riley, Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi. Yes it was to give the squad an immediate boost, especially midfield with Turnbull sidelined for the long term. But, even though we on the outside of the dressing room didn’t know it, you have to think the boss may have already had an inkling that Rogic and Nir Bitton were destined for the exit door in the summer and he was ahead of the game in terms of replacing them.
“No panic scrambling around this summer trying to get them covered. He’d already done it. I’m not suggesting for one minute that any of the current Celtic wide men, other than Johnston, are going to be departing in the next fortnight. But what if Jota or Abada are absolutely sensational in the Champions League group stages? Clubs will be queuing up looking to sign them for megabucks next summer and you have to be ahead of the game when it comes to the market these days.
“Put it this way, Josip Juranovic is a first-pick Croatian international who is going to a World Cup after playing in a Champions League. He’s already got admirers. What is the list going to be like if he excels in those two tournaments?”
