Celtic centre-back tipped to leave after new signing
![Celtic's Greek Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou attends a press conference at Celtic Park in Glasgow on October 24, 2022, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League Group F football match against Shakhtar Donetsk. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by ANDY BUCHANAN has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Celtic's Greek Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou] instead of [Celtic's English goalkeeper Joe Hart ]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F9dce004c691f42eb863841de1e075dd817c90867bff36d432d1784948871668a.jpg "Celtic's Greek Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou attends a press conference at Celtic Park in Glasgow on October 24, 2022, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League Group F football match against Shakhtar Donetsk. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by ANDY BUCHANAN has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Celtic's Greek Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou] instead of [Celtic's English goalkeeper Joe Hart ]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)")
Celtic have made their moves early once again. The club have already announced the signing of 22-year-old Japanese centre-back, Yuki Kobayashi, who was a starter for Vissel Kobe before this and the Hoops are also working on a deal to sign Canadian international, Alistair Johnston, from CF Montreal. It remains to be seen if that ends up happening or not, but all the signs are pointing in a positive direction.
One has to wonder what these signings mean for the future of some players though, especially the addition of a fifth centre-back in the form of Kobayashi. Josip Juranovic was expected to leave after the World Cup anyway and Johnston might very well be coming in as a like-for-like replacement.
Many have questioned whether Stephen Welsh has a future at the club or not, following the signing of Kobayashi. While that remains up for debate, one player whose time might be as good as over is Liam Scales.
While speaking on The Celtic Way, Aidan Macdonald said about the future of Scales:
"“I think it definitely spells the end for Liam Scales. I mean it’s kind of clear that he is down the pecking order given that he went out on loan. I know he has been doing quite well for Aberdeen and it’s probably clear that he was, as when he was scouted at the time, it was more of a centre-back than an actual left-back. So I think that probably does spell the end for him.”"
Celtic centre-back tipped to leave after club complete signing of Kobayashi
Scales did get a few chances last season following his arrival from Shamrock Rovers but never seemed to be a big part of the manager’s plans. This season, he has been sent out on loan to Aberdeen.
To be fair to him, Scales has been doing a very good job there and he has been one of their most consistent performers, as Aberdeen sit at 3rd in the Premiership table.
Thus, if he was to leave Celtic in the near future, there does already seem to be a clear destination for him, if the Dons are ready to match the transfer fee that the Hoops would look for in order to let Scales leave on a permanent basis.
More. Celtic should sign Arsenal striker on loan in January. light