Celtic had a more eventful January transfer window than most fans would have expected for sure. They added four new players to their ranks in the form of Yuki Kobayashi, Alistair Johnston, Tomoki Iwata and Oh Hyeon-gyu. If things go according to plan and they are able to adjust to the Scottish game, then all of them should have key roles in Ange Postecoglou’s side.
One thing that was clear though is that Celtic had had their targets picked out from very early on. As a result, three of the signings that they made were over the finish line before the month had even started.
The only saga that dragged on was the one for Oh. And for a while, it had looked like the club had wanted to bring in Cho Gue-sung instead. But that did not materialise.
That means that Celtic actually made one new signing during the month of January, while the other three deals had been agreed beforehand. And Postecoglou appears to believe that that might have disappointed some fans. As reported by The Scottish Sun, when asked if the early business had been done on purpose, the manager told BBC Sportsound:
"“Yeah, I think so.“There’s probably a little section of our supporters a little bit disappointed there wasn’t any excitement yesterday, I probably deflated a few people.“But I just think I don’t know why people wait to the last minute, it doesn’t make sense to me.“In January there’s a whole month of football, especially here in Scotland there’s some pretty big games, and they have been big games for us.“If we could do business early I thought it made sense and there were a couple of markets where we could early in.“It just worked well for us. I don’t think it’s always going to happen that way because it depends on where you’re looking.“I just think for January especially it makes a lot of sense to bring guys in early. You get the extra benefit of an extra month of football they can contribute in, and you don’t have to scramble last minute.”"
Postecoglou believes he disappointed some Celtic fans
Postecoglou should rest assured that the majority of Celtic fans are delighted with the change that has come in the approach of the club to the transfer market during his run as manager.
In the past, Celtic allowed things to drag on for much longer than was needed and often, it resulted in them missing out on key targets.
That is no longer happening. Of course, that does not mean that they are successful in signing all of their targets. But some deals are just not meant to be. Overall, the habit of doing early business is certainly a very positive one.