Celtic have made plenty of signings this summer already. But has the squad been improved? That is the question we need an answer to. On one hand, we have seen the likes of Greg Taylor, Nicolas Kuhn, Jeffrey Schlupp and more head for the exit door. On the other hand, Kieran Tierney, Callum Osmand, Benjamin Nygren, Isaac English, Hayato Inamura and Ross Doohan have arrived.
Tierney will be a regular starter. Nygren is expected to be involved as well. But other than that, it is hard to imagine that any of the other four is ready to contribute much to Brendan Rodgers' side from the get-go.
In fact, there have been rumours that their latest signing, Inamura, is not being viewed as a player immediately capable of contributing to the Celtic first-team. He could potentially be sent out on loan this summer itself.
Now, Rodgers himself has pretty much confirmed those rumours. As reported by CeltsAreHere, the manager said:
"No, he won’t be part of the first team.
“He’s, again, a part of the investment of the club, is to bring a player in. We’ll assess and see where he’s at as a young player. Then it’s whether he stays with the squad or whether he has to go out on his own."
Brendan Rodgers confirms rumour about new Celtic signing
Inamura is 23 years of age, but the Japanese football system means that he is still very early in his professional career as a footballer. It was just in April of last year that he made his debut at the senior level and he has only made 36 appearances so far.
So, it is not hard to understand why Celtic might be looking to send him out on loan in order to gain experience somewhere. It would be pointless to keep him at the club, if he is not going to be much football with the first-team.
Perhaps a loan move to a Scottish Premiership club would be the best step for him. But then again, that has rarely helped players become regular starters for Celtic in recent years. One has to question the decision to sign a 23-year-old centre-back if the club were not certain about his ability to contribute from the off.