Celtic haven’t made huge moves this offseason like many expected. There have been a slew of early exits as manager Brendan Rodgers looks to slim up the squad a bit, and there have been three signings.
However, none of the bigger moves talked about have come to fruition. Such is the craziness of the transfer rumor mill. Such is having a pretty settled squad in need of a few tweaks and key acquisitions to help get to the next level on the European stage.
Despite all the comings and goings at Celtic Park already this offseason, there appears to be more work needed. Yes, even with an easy dismantling of Linfield in the Champions League second round qualifiers.
At least that appears to be the case if Celtic want another treble-winning season and an extended stay in European football. With that in mind, how do Celtic guarantee themselves a better shot? We have three areas that Celtic need to address in order to shore up their chances.
Left Defense
Celtic have easily the strongest backline we’ve seen since Virgil Van Djik was manning the middle of things back in the day. A starting four of Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic, Dedryck Boyata and Kieran Tierney is about as quality as Celtic could ever hope to have.
But, Boyata suffered a nasty injury and is out until likely September at the earliest. Tierney is constantly on the rumor mill about a move (although we find it highly unlikely this year), and now his replacement, Emilio Izaguirre, is off to Saudi Arabia in the hopes of getting back on the Honduran national team.
With Boyata missing and Izagurrie gone, the back line has been stretched real thin.
A third striker
I know it is good news that there are plenty of attacking options overall, but relying on a 3-4-3 lineup over and over again will stretch the crap out of midfield depth and thensome. Over the course of a season there needs to be some great flexibility within the squad and that doesn’t exactly exist up front.
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Moussa Dembele isn’t going to be here for much longer. Leigh Griffiths is in the upper part of his prime at 26 years old as well. Both have had lengthly battles with hamstring injuries already while with the Hoops.
What happens if the scenario from last season unfolds — with Dembele and Griffiths both gone at the same time? The easy answer is to move Scott Sinclair centrally and go with other options to fill in the gaps.
But, can that really be the long-term answer if there are injury issues? Celtic need to find a third option in attack, whether that happens internally (highly unlikely) or externally. Someone has to be brought in to the squad for reinforcements.
Central Defender
Eric Sviatchenko is a great third option in the middle of defense, but Celtic don’t have much beyond him. That’s troubling considering Simunovic’s injury history and need to take care of that knee as well as Boyata’s extended period out right now.
It’s also troubling because Celtic list just six defenders on its current first team roster. Only five of those are healthy right now too. That’s worrisome if it is what the Bhoys trot out every week all season long.
Personally, I’d like to see us going after a replacement for Emilio and follow it up with a promising option in the middle of the defense as well. There isn’t a whole lot of depth in the developmental squad either, at least in terms of defensive options.
Maybe they give Anthony Ralston a look, but that is a big ask to jump from developmental squad to potentially being needed on a European stage. Flexibility is key to Brendan Rodgers’ plans, and there needs to be more investment in the defensive part of the squad if that is truly to be the case.
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If there’s a more pressing need than for reinforcements on the defensive side of things, I’d like to hear a good pitch for it.