Celtic FC: Grading the offseason additions under Brendan Rodgers

Transfer deadline day is in the books, and all was quite on the Celtic front. All but a proposed £3 million move of defender Jozo Simunovic to Torino being called off due to terms not being agreed upon and Everton’s unwillingness to part with James McCarthy that is.

With the transfer window now closed throughout Europe, Brendan Rodgers’ first squad at Celtic Park is set and it certainly has plenty of his own stamp all over it.

In what was a busy summer of moves for Celtic ahead of play in the Champions League playoffs, Rodgers went out to shape his squad earlier than most and he ended up signing five new players while offloading a total of 10 players.

Rodgers stepped in to a bloated squad, with what seemed like 20 midfielders and needed to trim the overall size of this squad while also finding a way to improve the quality of the squad at the same time. Given that task, did Rodgers succeed?

C+. With not a lot to speak of from Celtic’s attack outside of Leigh Griffiths, Rodgers knew his first and most-pressing need was to add help up front. The addition of the free agent, Dembele, turned some heads given clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal were in on him for transfers over the past year-and-a-half.It also didn’t hurt to add some youth to the position, with Griffiths entering his prime at 26 and Dembele coming to the club at just 19 years old. However, Dembele didn’t necessarily capitalize on his chances early on in his days in the Hoops.Dembele had plenty of chances to put the ball in the back of the net, but seemed snakebitten. He finally scored his opener for Celtic, giving them the 2-1 win over FC Astana in a Champions League qualifier. To date he has two goals in UCL play, but has gone from starter to super-sub. The jury is still out on this move, but we’re guessing time is his best friend and he may be a key part of this team for a few more years.. F. Celtic FC. MOUSSA DEMBELE

D. Celtic FC. KOLO TOURE. B+. Kolo Toure’s free move was also next, and while the veteran defender easily stepped in to the first team and commanded respect, he is 35 years old and many wondered if he still had enough in the tank. Since his arrival, Toure has been a dependable option in the back of Celtic’s squad, and being a steadying force has been a godsend compared to the weekly nightmare that was Celtic’s central defense pairings under Diela.However, he can show his age at times and if caught out of position or up field on the counter attack his declining speed is noticeable. One also has to wonder if Koure has the stamina to stick at his current level of play throughout the long season. Rodgers will have to be smart with his minutes this season.

A. After adding a younger piece to the striker position, Celtic showed it needed a lot more out of its midfield. That was especially the case in terms of getting width and pace on the outside. Rodgers was able to add Sinclair from Aston Villa for a believed fee of £3.5 million, and since his arrival it is hard to say he hasn’t been worth every penny of that transfer fee.Sinclair has added just the right amount of pace down the left flank, been a pest for opposing defenses and has been on point with his crossing and striking. In six games in all competitions he has netted four goals. None will be more memorable than netting the game winner as a sub in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Hearts to open the 2016-17 SPFL season. Rodgers appears to have hit a home run so far with this transfer.. M. Celtic FC. SCOTT SINCLAIR

Most Celtic fans wouldn’t have put goal keeper on the list of Brendan Rodgers’ offseason priorities list. However, early offseason results from No. 1 keeper Craig Gordon were sub-par at best. That necessitated a look to shore up the position and Celtic turned to Nottingham Forest keeper Dorus de Vries to push the aging Gordon.Rodgers knows de Vries well, having been at Swansea City together and that familiarity may be helpful as the season goes on. It’s been hard to judge the move on just one performance, but it wasn’t exactly a confidence-inducing start against Aberdeen. De Vries’ distribution was lacking in a major way, only lucky to have Kolo Toure there to bail him out after gifting a pass right to Aberdeen.One performance doesn’t a career make, but when this team and its fans were looking for more solid distribution out of the back and it didn’t come, worry has to creep in.. GK. Celtic FC. DORUS DE VRIES. C -

INC. There’s simply nothing to work with on this transfer, as Celtic made the move to grab the out-of-favor West Brom winger/right back on the second to last day of the transfer window. He has yet to play a single match for the Bhoys, but a change of scenery could do the Costa Rican winger plenty of good.It could also be a master move to help what has been woeful production up the wings in attack. If he plays more like he has for Costa Rica and less like he has for West Brom, Celtic may have done its best piece of offseason business.. D. Celtic FC. CRISTIAN GAMBOA

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