We’re in the closing hours of the last main window for Celtic to make another signing. The final deadline for the club to register another player is 5 p.m UK time tonight, Thursday Sept 3. Is that enough time for another deal to be completed and registered?
The last few days have been exceptionally busy for the club’s recruitment team. Five new players were announced yesterday alone. The media team was busy turning out all the news for the arrivals of Sam Johnstone, Joel van den Berg, Shumaira Mheuka, Landon Emenalo and Jordan Lotomba.
They followed Oliver Sorensen on Tuesday and the earlier deals for Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan. Plus, of course, a new deal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. That's quite a list, adding quality and depth to the squad for this season.
Celtic’s UEFA Europa League deadline has passed for new signings
It's going to be another long season with plenty of games coming up fast and furious as usual. The Europa League may be a step down from the Champions League, but it still adds a minimum of eight big ties. All of those players listed above will be eligible for the UEFA Europa League squad.
And that's where another big question comes up: is there another signing to follow today? Would anyone arriving now be happy to sign up knowing they won't be available for those European nights? Perhaps a younger player, a longer-term project, or someone happy to be part of the overall squad and take their chances in domestic competitions.
Rangers have logged another couple of signings today, but then they don't have that European situation to worry about. It does all lean toward this being a quieter day at Celtic. But Martin O’Neill did leave the door open for more today. Interviewed after the fine 3-0 win over Aberdeen, he noted that if he could get more in today, he’d be happy to do so.
Currently, the transfer rumours have largely dried up for Celtic. There are some suggestions that a final offer for Gvidas Gineitis at Torino is being made, but missing the Europa League group matches would be a hard sell, surely.
But then a lot of the activity in the last few days flew under the radar beforehand. Who saw Sorensen coming until shortly before it happened? So you just never know with Celtic and transfers.
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