Celtic: 3 biggest transfer mistakes from recent years

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Ivan Toney of Brentford during the Premier League match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Ivan Toney of Brentford during the Premier League match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
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The 2020/21 campaign was one to forget for Celtic to say the least. The club had the chance of making history by winning a tenth straight Scottish league title but they fell way short of the mark. Ultimately, they ended up finishing the season 25 points behind the Rangers in the Premiership table. And the Hoops failed to perform in other competitions as well, finishing trophyless, which has been very rare for the club in recent times.

Naturally, a lot of questions were raised about the manager and the players. Neil Lennon departed the club in the middle of the campaign while there were several player exits as well.

One aspect that played a huge part in their disappointing campaign as well though was some of the transfer decisions that the club have made in recent years.

Often, they have ended up signing players who have not made their mark or missed out on those who have gone on to become absolute superstars elsewhere.

Celtic: 3 biggest transfer mistakes from recent years

Here are Celtic’s 3 biggest transfer mistakes from recent years, which played a big reason behind their struggles last season:

Aaron Hickey

Celtic
Aaron Hickey, Bologna FC. (Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Left-back has been an area of worry for Celtic for quite some time now. Several players have featured there but nobody has been able to nail down their place there ever since the departure of Kieran Tierney.

One player that might have been able to do just that though is Aaron Hickey. He was a part of the Celtic youth ranks but made his senior breakthrough at Hearts and has not looked back since.

Celtic were linked with a move for Hickey but Bologna ended up signing him and there, he has established himself as one of the brightest young prospects in the Serie A.

Despite being just 19 years of age, Hickey has already become a regular feature in the Bologna starting XI. And his performances have been impressive enough for him to be linked with clubs like Napoli and AC Milan already.