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Celtic hero claims new signing is not ready for Champions League

By Sourav Mahanty

Leicester City's Northern Irish manager Brendan Rodgers arrives for the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Leicester City at Selhurst Park in south London on April 1, 2023. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Leicester City's Northern Irish manager Brendan Rodgers arrives for the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Leicester City at Selhurst Park in south London on April 1, 2023. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Celtic were pretty active over the course of the summer transfer window, bringing in nine fresh faces to Parkhead. Seven of them have joined the club on a permanent basis while two are on loan deals. Despite that, the Hoops faced a lot of criticism because many fans felt that enough experience was not brought in to compete in the Champions League.

Instead, the club stuck to signing highly-rated youngsters. And while that might prove to be good for the club in the long-term, it has never proven to be a successful strategy when it comes to Europe.

Their recent record in European competitions is proof of that. And Celtic’s lack of experience was on full show in their group stage opener against Feyenoord.

They have two players sent off. They were Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm. Both were signed in the summer.

Celtic hero claims new signing is not ready for Champions League

As reported by Football Insider, former Celtic player Frank McAvennie said while talking about Holm:

"“I think Holm is a wonderful talent and will be a great player, they have got some wonderful talent but at this moment in time I do not think they are ready for the Champions League, Rodgers was just forced to play them because of the injuries.“I am not going to blame him for the sending off because he is young and he has never played in the Champions League before. You won’t get away with that in the Champions League but he will learn from it.“"

To be very honest, that might be an accurate assessment of the current situation. Celtic have brought in a number of young players whose talent is clear to see.

But at the same time, you need more than just talent to perform at the Champions League. And unfortunately, they do have that under their belt just yet.

The problem is, by the time some of them gain that, it might be time for them to change clubs again. And the cycle will continue on at Celtic Park.

That is one of the biggest reasons why Celtic have found very little success in European football in recent years. By the time the players are ready to compete at that level, they end up leaving. The Hoops bring in more youngsters and the process repeats itself.

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