Worrying Celtic transfer update regarding new defender

It is clear that Celtic need to sign a new defender in January and while they look set to do that, the recent transfer update is a bit worrying.

It is safe to say that defence has been the Achilles’ heel of Celtic this season. They have leaked goals throughout the course of the campaign and that is the biggest reason why they find themselves 19 points behind the Rangers in the Premiership table.

Now there have been a few reasons for that. The first is the failure of Shane Duffy to adjust to Scottish football and Celtic’s style of play. The Republic of Ireland came with high hopes but has been a flop. The second is Christopher Jullien’s continuous battles with injury.

The Frenchman spent months out of action due to a back issue. He managed to recover though and re-established himself in the side quickly only to injure himself while trying to prevent a goal against Dundee United. Now, he is set to spent another three to four months on the sidelines.

As a result, the club is in desperate need of a centre-back in January. But any deal will be a loan one and not on a permanent basis according to The Scottish Sun.

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This just shows the lack of transfer planning at Celtic right now, which is a huge reason why they are where they are this season. There appears to be no long-term plans when it comes to player recruitment. When one of your main defender goes down while another flops badly, you should not hesitate to go out and sign someone.

Yes, the current circumstances are much different then they normally would be and it always difficult to bring in quality in January. But then, Mark McKenzie just moved to KRC Genk for around £5 million. He was on the Hoops’ wishlist and available for a much lower fee in the summer though but they decided to bring in Duffy. The recruitment team clearly got that one wrong.

At this moment, it is looking very likely that Filip Benkovic will return to Parkhead on a loan. And honestly, the club could do worse. The Croatian has a lot of potential and has already proven that he can cut it in Scottish football. Let’s hope that if he does come, he can remain injury free and deliver the goods.