Quite an early contrast across both clubs as we saw the Rangers saying bye bye to 6 players so far and Neil Lennon not expecting to lose many players from his squad.
The day after the Rangers added their vote to the unanimous league decision to end the season and crown Celtic champions they couldn’t wait to close down a few players Ibrox careers.
Andy Halliday, Jon Flanagan and Wes Foderingham won’t see their expiring contracts renewed next month. Jason Holt, Jordan Rossiter and Jak Alnwick had already been shown the door on loan this season and will now see a no entry sign as they too join the departure list.
Halliday in particular will be missed by fans. Mainly Celtic ones. They’ve been trolling him relentlessly since chanting his name and providing a standing ovation when he was substituted in the Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden in 2018.
He talked today of sadness at being unable to say goodbye to the players and at not getting a final game at Ibrox as a farewell to the fans. He played 6 league games this season suggesting he’d have been better focussing on his form rather than waving.
Everyone knows a transfer window over the summer will be unusual and unique. No-one is quite sure how it will work and what the impact of the coronavirus will be on the football transfer market. Clubs with significant financial concerns are very likely to be keen to release players.
Neil Lennon on the other hand was in a buoyant mood on Thursday about his squad for next season. The Daily Record reported on his transfer thoughts where he believes that Celtic are in a strong position currently.
Lennon isn’t expecting to lose players, Celtic’s squad is pretty secure with long term contracts in place.
"“We are not looking at making major changes at all, or rebuilding. Maybe one or two areas where we look to improve”."
Perhaps Renata Tapia or Berahino are part of the improvement areas. Celtic keep their transfer business very quiet so we’ll have to wait and see. The low expectation on exits is also reassuring news in terms of rumoured moves for Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer.