This January transfer window has already been a very interesting one for Celtic, even though there has not been much in the name of activity in terms of signings. The only two additions have been the loan arrivals of Julian Araujo from Bournemouth and Tomas Cvancara from Borussia Monchengladbach. The much bigger story has been the sacking of Wilfried Nancy, and the return of Martin O'Neill for a second interim spell within a space of months.
So far, he has proven to be quite successful, despite limited resources. The Hoops do need to back him this winter, even if it is with loan signings, to help O'Neill make a run at the league title. Hearts are leading by six points with fifteen games to go. The two teams will meet this weekend, pretty much a must-win for Celtic.
Can the club get some fresh faces in before that? It is starting to feel extremely unlikely. In fact, it is very clear that one Celtic-linked player won't be headed to Parkhead. Instead, he is making the move to Turkey.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Yaser Asprilla to Galatasaray is here we go. There is a verbal agreement in place with Girona. It is an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy clause linked to a number of appearances. The potential final fee would be €23 million.
'Here we go' - Fabrizio Romano confirms bad news for Celtic
Let's just say that there is no chance that Celtic would have been open to the idea of shelling out around €23 million for Asprilla, no matter how talented he is. So, a move to Parkhead was never really on the cards, now we know what Girona were looking for.
Of course, there is a possibility that the obligation won't be met, as it is linked to a certain number of appearances. But for the time being, Asprilla is not going to be a Celtic player.
The club do need to strengthen their ranks on the flanks though. Michel-Ange Balikwisha has flopped since joining in the summer. And Jota looks set to remain out for the rest of the season with the injury he suffered in early 2025.