The summer transfer window was the right step forward for Celtic as they not only let go of players who did not have a role in the team but also brought in people to add depth and quality to the squad. It was pretty clear that the club were serious about making an impression upon their return to the UEFA Champions League, while also continuing their dominance in domestic competitions.
While the results in the Champions League were not up to the mark, the performances did show that Celtic are on the right path, as they went toe to toe with the likes of Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, and could have actually come out with something from those games if they had taken their chances.
Their hopes of making the last 16 are but with opponents such as Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, and RB Leipzig in their Champions League group, it was always going to be a difficult task to go beyond the group stages.
In domestic competitions, they have maintained their brilliance, sitting at the top of the Premiership and also in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup, where they will take on Kilmarnock. But one thing that must be pointed amidst all this is the fact that the summer signings have not made the instant impact this season that they did last time around.
Celtic manager heaps praise on the new signings
While players such as Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Daizen Maeda were signed on permanent deals in the summer transfer window, Postecoglou has backed the likes of Sead Haksabanovic, Alexandro Bernabei, Aaron Mooy and others to make their own marks at the club as well.
As reported by STV News, he said:
"“There’s obviously a distinct difference between this year and last year, where we were kind of forced to throw guys in, which wasn’t ideal.“Credit to the players we did throw in, they just took up the challenge. It wasn’t easy for a lot of them.“This year with all the players we have brought in, we have taken our time to integrate them into the style of training, our style of play, and allowing them to get settled off the park. I am pleased with all their progress.“I still feel, maybe not with Berna, because he came in pretty early, but with the other lads you mentioned, Sead, Oliver and Aaron, I still feel they will be better off in the second half of the year because missing pre-season does catch up with you at some point. You can’t make that ground up.“The fact that we have got this mid-season break will allow us to put some more work into the guys and it will be important because, whilst we are in a busy period, we still know that the really important stuff happens after the break. That’s when everything gets decided and we will still have a lot of games.“I’m really confident players like Aaron, Sead and Oliver will be strong contributors to that.”"
It is clear that Postecoglou is happy with the signings that the club made in the summer. Now, it remains to be seen if they can repay the faith and become important players at Celtic.