Celtic have been moving at a glacial pace in the ongoing summer transfer window. There are so many areas in need of strengthening but the necessary additions have not been made. Kyogo left in January. He has not been replaced. Nicolas Kuhn left weeks back, while Jota is out for the year with an injury. But a replacement has not been brought in.
There are two ways to look at it. First, Celtic are waiting on the result of the Champions League qualifiers before deciding on their transfer budget. Second, their targets are waiting to see if the Hoops qualify or not.
Whichever may be the case, it simply has not been good enough. Celtic have been linked with a few players for sure. Hopefully, moves will be made soon.
One such player they have been linked with is Richard Kone. He plays in League One for Wycombe right now and managed to score 21 goals across all competitions last season. It is believed that it will take a transfer fee around £5 million to sign him this summer. But the Hoops face competition.
Celtic tipped to sign 21-goal striker ahead of English club
Swansea City are also believed to be keen on signing Kone this summer. But Celtic have been backed to sign him ahead of the Swans. As reported by Football Insider, Paul Robinson said:
"You would suspect they’d fancy their chances to beat Swansea, but Swansea are heavily linked and seemingly a long way down the road to try and get the player.
“I think he’s raw – there’s definitely goalscoring potential there – is he ready to play in the Champions League for Celtic? I’m not sure.
“Is he willing; ready to be part of a squad, and Celtic pay for potential rather than proven quality? There’s certainly a player there, which is why he’s attracting the interest of Swansea and Celtic.
“But after only 58 league games, and 18 of his 21 league goals in total all coming last year, you’d be skeptical of overpaying for him – but at 22 years old, there’s clearly a player there."
It remains to be seen how things turn out in this saga involving Kone, Celtic and Swansea City in this summer window. One can only hope that the Hoops make a genuine attempt to try and sign the striker.
Of course, there will be question marks around him. That is always the case when a player is coming up from a lower league to the Premiership and perhaps even the Champions League.
That does not mean that a move cannot work out though. Just look at Matt O'Riley. He was at MK Dons when Celtic signed him. A couple of years later, he made a £25 million move to Brighton & Hove Albion. It is about finding the right players.
In the summer of 2020, Celtic had found themselves in a similar situation. Ultimately, a move for Ivan Toney, then of Peterborough United, was not made. Instead, Albian Ajeti was signed from West Ham United. We all know how that turned out. Let's just hope that those mistakes are not repeated by the club.