Celtic handed transfer blow by Wayne Rooney’s comments

It is clear that Celtic need to make additions to their squad in a number of positions. The 6-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham United in their pre-season friendly just showed that there is a lot of work needed at the back for the Hoops.

In fact, defence has been a worry for the club for quite a while now. And with Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt and Jonjoe Kenny leaving at the end of their loan spells, and Kristoffer Ajer joining Brentford, options at the back are even more limited now.

One of the positions that the Hoops need to bring reinforcements in as soon as possible is right-back. There is a lack of depth there, with Anthony Ralston being the only recognised right-back in the squad at the moment. One player that Celtic have been recently linked with is Derby County’s Nathan Byrne.

But Derby County manager, Wayne Rooney, believes that none of his players are going anywhere, amidst rumours surrounding the futures of both his right-back and his left-back, Lee Buchanan. As reported by Derbyshire Live, when asked about the transfer speculation, he said:

"“None of my players are going anywhere.“Obviously, we haven’t got enough players as it is.“The way we are trying to play, they are the two most important players on the pitch, so none of my players will be leaving the club this transfer window unless it is to benefit them, whether it is a loan, but that can only happen if we are allowed to bring players in.”"

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Celtic need to bring in players as soon as possible

We are less than a week away now from the start of the Premiership season and at this point of time, this defence does not look strong enough for the club to put up a title challenge. While the arrival of Carl Starfelt and the return of Christopher Jullien would be expected to be a boost, overall, more signings are needed at the back.

The Hoops might need to sign players at both right-back and left-back, as well as in the heart of their defence. A signing at goalkeeper might be needed as well, with Vasilis Barkas failing to find consistency. While the Greek international has put in some good performances in pre-season, he has also made a couple of mistakes already.

When it comes to the right-back position, it looks like their search is set to continue, as a move for Byrne does not appear to be on the cards.