Celtic ready to let first-team player leave in January

It looks like Celtic could be to ready to let the player leave in January as reports state that he is unsettled and homesick in Glasgow.

One of the biggest areas of weakness for Celtic this season has been their defence. While a lot of the blame has fallen on the fact that they failed to bring back Fraser Forster, it is undeniable that a lot of the goals that they have conceded is down to shambolic defending and not the fault of either Vasilis Barkas or Scott Bain.

Thus, bringing in new defenders in January could be one of the first things on the club’s wishlist in January. But it looks like they could be set to lose one instead in the form of Hatem Abd Elhamed.

According to the The Scottish Sun, Elhamed has grown homesick, having left his family back in Israel and is now desperate to leave the club. The Celtic board are also willing to grant him his wish if they can manage to find a suitable replacement in January with Head of Recruitment Nick Hammond looking at right-backs at the moment.

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The Israeli international has not done terribly since joining the club last season. He has suffered a number of injuries which has left him out of the picture for long periods of time but whenever on the pitch, he has given a decent account of himself.

This might be an opportunity for Celtic to freshen things up though. It is clear by now that they need to make some changes if they are to bring this season back on track and were probably already looking at potential January signings. Elhamed leaving could mean that they could use the transfer fee that they receive for him to sanction one of those deals.

He is a versatile player though, capable of playing both right-back and centre-back, and the club must make sure that they find a suitable replacement. Judging by their recent record with signings, one cannot be certain that they will.