At last for Celtic supporters. The transfer window is finally over for every club in the world. Ridiculous monetary amounts will spot floating around, and the seemingly endless rumor mill has been brought to a halt.
Enormous amounts of money was spent in this January window. The Premier League alone saw 450 million pounds fly out the window, and that’s just in England. Other moves saw Philippe Coutinho to FC Barcelona and Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
Celtic on the other hand, kept it low in terms of spending the cash. The Bhoys didn’t go over their club record of near 6 million pounds, and still managed to bring in some real quality.
Before the window opened, two areas of the pitch desperately needed to be addressed. Another central defender to go alongside Kristoffer Ajer and more creativity in the midfield was a must. The Celts arguably got those and more in the now previous window.
The future is starting to form with the completion of this window. An array of players that the Glasgow side have signed have come under the age of 22, and contain a boatload of potential.
Celtic were also expected to sell quite a bit of stragglers in this market frame. Defenders Mikael Lustig and Erik Sviatchenko needed to be replaced, but both still remain at the club (Sviat still owned by Celtic).
In fact, the only real permanent move away saw Liam Henderson arrive to Italian side Bari. It was a good move for the 21-year-old who didn’t see much of a future at Paradise in the first place.
Celtic were big in the loan market; that goes for both signings and players out of the club. Two players in Scott Bain and Charly Musonda were brought in on loan, while the Hoops sent out 9 total players on borrowing terms for the window.
How can the January window be graded? In what way will the transactions benefit or harm the Bhoys? Let’s find out by putting together the complete list of Celtic business in the transfer market for the winter.
In
- Marvin Compper (CB) Transfer from RB Leipzig
- Lewis Morgan (CAM or Wing) Transfer from St. Mirren
- Charly Musonda (CAM or Wing) Loan from Chelsea
- Scott Bain (GK) Loan from Dundee
- Jack Hendry (CB) Transfer from Dundee
This is a very, very impressive list from the Bhoys. It took a while for the moves to play out, but at least Celtic were able to complete the transfers.
To start off the hectic window was the move for Compper, which came with a lot of criticism. Nobody had really heard of the German before, and his age of 32 suggested that he was falling out his prime.
As the window closed, however, the move started to make more sense. Compper is a perfect time gap player that now allows Hendry and some other young defenders room to develop. Plus, Compper is good at moving the ball effectively with some outstanding tackling capabilities.
Morgan and Musonda could be threats for quite some time. Both combine for a multitude of goals in their young careers and have some amazing individual abilities. Musonda is noted for his great dribbling, and Morgan is a sublime passer of the ball in the middle of the park.
More from The Celtic Bhoys
- Celtic handed fresh injury doubt before Feyenoord game
- Celtic’s £40.7 million announcement should scare Rangers
- Brendan Rodgers makes superb claim about returning Celtic player
- BBC pundit makes sensational claim about Celtic hero Kyogo
- Kyogo Furuhashi sends clear message to Celtic doubters
The only downside is that fans are not sure as to whether or not Musonda had a buy option on his loan deal. 18 months is a lot of time, but his potential suggests that Musonda should stay at Celtic Park for many more years ahead.
Bain was the emergency keeper brought in as Craig Gordon went down in the fixture against Hibernian. It was a cheap move, but honestly, Bain still comes with some short-term question marks.
The 26-year-old has only amassed 2 clean sheets while conceding 30 goals with Dundee FC. It may not be horrible, but it’s still a lot for a Championship side.
At the very least, the move now gives Brendan Rodgers something to work with between Bain and Dorus de Vries.
And finally, the move for Hendry was long awaited as Neil McCann reportedly rejected an initial low bid from the Bhoys. Yet, that didn’t stop Celtic from locking up the Scottish wonderkid at the last minute of deadline day.
The fee remains undisclosed right now, but something near 1 million pounds should still be considered a steal. The new Bhoy carries a lot of qualities that a veteran center-back would have, and Hendry is still 22-years-old.
Overall, it wasn’t just the talent that made the transfers in successful, but it was the price for that said talent that made the window a complete accomplishment. All of these players have the potential to help Celtic right now and years down the line, and it all comes at a low bargain.
Out
- Regan Hendry – Loaned to Raith Rovers
- Lewis Morgan – Loaned back to St. Mirren for the rest of the season
- Kundai Benyu – Loaned to Oldham Athletic
- Nadir Ciftci – Loaned to Motherwell
- Erik Sviatchenko – Loaned to FC Midtjylland
- Mark Hill – Loaned to St. Mirren
- Liam Henderson – Transferred to Bari
- Jamie McCart – Loaned to Alloa Athletic
- Conor Hazard – Loaned to Falkirk
- Scott Allan – Loaned to Hibernian
Not much of a profit was made in terms of selling for Celtic. Ticket prices at Celtic Park might be able to make up for it…
A lot of decent names come up here. To be honest, a lot of the players loaned out are seeing playing time elsewhere, and that’s likely where they’re only going to get actual minutes for the rest of their careers.
The only players that could see time with the Bhoys in the future is Hazard, Sviatchenko and maybe Benyu. Everybody else could have been sold and very well will be in the near time ahead.
Morgan is excluded because he’ll be back for the start of next season, and will surely feature in the starting lineup.
Benyu is a difficult prospect to figure out. No goals in seven games this season is a bit concerning, but the age of 20 suggests he needed more time to grow in less dramatic circumstances.
Sviatchenko is another interesting case simply because of his age, too. 26 can be considered the prime years for a defender. Does Celtic really have that much trust in a defender who is supposed to be at the top of his life, by loaning him to a side in Norway?
Maybe it’s for the best, but the loan definitely suggests that the Celts might have moved on.
The moves out perfectly complement the transfers in. Hazard was a bit of an alarm when Gordon went down, but Bain has now stepped in for the time being.
Lack of potential and real minutes had to be addressed, and Celtic started to do that perfectly when removing the likes of Henderson out of the squad.
Out with the old and in with the new. Young faces will start to shine in Paradise soon, while others can seek their playing glory elsewhere.
Grades for “In” – 9/10
Grades for “Out” – 7.5/10
Next: Celtic get revenge on Hearts
What are your overall thoughts on the 2018 January window for Celtic? Let us know in the comments section below.