Expect plenty of transfer activity in Glasgow's East End this month, with the first signing already through the door. On Friday morning, Celtic confirmed the signing of Julián Araujo. He will become the second Mexican international to represent the Hoops, after Efraín Juárez in 2010/11.
Araujo joins on a six-month loan from Bournemouth, but who are some of the best Celtic loanees from the past? For this list, players who arrived initially on loan but later became permanent have been discarded.
This list includes current squad members Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Daizen Maeda and Paulo Bernardo, as well as club icons such as Odsonne Édouard, Georgios Samaras and Artur Boruc. Who knows, Araujo's move could be made permanent in time. For now, he'll simply be seeking to emulate those who had an immediate impact in Glasgow.
5 best Celtic loan signings of all-time
Craig Bellamy: 2005
Given that Craig Bellamy played for ten different clubs all across the UK, his stint at Celtic is often forgotten. Well, the Wales manager was not in Glasgow for long, but he made a lasting impression.
The winger arrived on 1 February 2005, joining after Martin O'Neill's team had just won eight matches in a row across all competitions. Bellamy would score a remarkable eight goals in 14 appearances, averaging a goal every 152 minutes, including a hat-trick during a 3-2 victory at Tannadice over Dundee United.
He helped the Hoops win the Scottish Cup, on target during the semi-final and starting the final, albeit the Bhoys missed out on the Premiership title on that historic Helicopter Sunday, beaten 2-1 by Motherwell. Nevertheless, Bellamy showed his quality, thereby earning a permanent move from Newcastle to Blackburn.
Robbie Keane: 2010
Another now manager who scored lots of goals during a very brief spell at Celtic is Robbie Keane.
Upon his arrival from Spurs, in trademark Keane fashion, he stated "I am a Celtic fan... I always wanted to play for Celtic"; pretty sure he was a boyhood supporter of everyone! Well, he certainly played like any fan would dream of doing, scoring 16 goals in 19 outings, which is a goal every 99 minutes on average.
Despite concluding the 2009/10 season with eight straight Premiership wins, the Hoops ended the campaign trophyless, finishing six points behind Rangers and losing to Ross County in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden. Nevertheless, on an individual basis, few have managed a better strike rate in the club's illustrious history than the Republic of Ireland's all-time leading scorer.
Patrick Roberts: 2016-18
As the saying goes, don't fall in love with a loan player. Well, Celtic supporters could not help but adore Patrick Roberts.
When he was still a teenager, who had only 22 senior appearances for Fulham, Manchester City paid £12 million to sign Roberts; that's how highly he was rated. Six months later, he was loaned to Celtic, spending just over two years in Glasgow. During this time, he won seven major trophies, scoring 18 goals and registering 26 assists in 78 appearances.
This includes netting against parent club Manchester City, also on target during a 3-0 demolition of Anderlecht in Brussels, one of only two away wins the club has ever enjoyed in the Champions League. Roberts dazzled the Parkhead faithful; at the time, most would've forecast that he was destined for the very top. In fact, perhaps his best football did come in hoops.
Mohamed Elyounoussi: 2019-21
Unfortunately for Mohamed Elyounoussi, he played for Celtic during their most miserable period of modern times, well, until this season perhaps. Nevertheless, even more credit should be given to the Norwegian international for producing an end-product in a pretty mediocre team.
Elyounoussi spent two seasons on loan at Celtic from Southampton, helping to clinch the quadruple treble during the first, even if it was curtailed by Covid-19. The second campaign, however, was a complete catastrophe. Neil Lennon was sacked in February, as the Bhoys ended up trophyless, finishing 25 points below Rangers, falling at the final hurdle in their chase for that elusive ten-in-a-row title.
Despite all of this, Elyounoussi continued to be productive. He scored 25 goals and racked up 14 assists in just 67 outings for the club, seven of his goals coming in Europe, on target against Cluj, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, Rīga, AC Milan and Lille. Simply because of how bad the rest of the team was, Elyounoussi's contribution is often forgotten, but he was undoubtedly a terrific player.
Fraser Forster: 2019-20
This one is slightly cheating, but it does fit the criteria, as we're only looking at his return. Fraser Forster made 197 appearances during his first spell at Celtic, most memorably helping them historically beat Barcelona in the Champions League. The goalkeeper made 13 saves that night as the Celts somehow prevailed 2-1, labelled " la Gran Muralla", the great wall, by Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
That, though, is not what we're looking at. Five years after leaving for Southampton, Forster returned on a season-long loan in 2019/20. In 39 appearances, he kept 17 clean sheets and conceded only 28 times that season. Most memorably, the England international was man of the match during the League Cup Final victory over Rangers.
That afternoon at Hampden, Christopher Jullien was the only scorer, but Forster was the hero, making seven saves, each more miraculous than the last. This includes denying Alfredo Morelos from the penalty spot, after Jeremie Frimpong had been sent off, repelling everything that came his way. This performance will go down in the annals of history as one of the best by any Celtic player, so for that alone, he deserves recognition.