Celtic’s summer transfer window was a mixed bag. Ultimately the perception is that the club didn’t strengthen Brendan Rodgers’ squad to the extent they are capable of, especially taking into account the departures of Jota and Carl Starfelt.
Even through some pretty severe squad injury issues, Rodgers has done a good job in the early stages of the season. He’s getting a tune out of players such as Liam Scales and the team unit as a whole is definitely getting better as the weeks go on.
But improvement in the available personnel pool is undoubtedly on the agenda in January and beyond. The Celtic boss has made that clear himself and plans are already underway for the winter window.
What positions will the club be looking at and who might even fit the profile of what Rodgers is looking for from the recruitment team? Here’s a look at three of the most promising summer rumours ahead of January…
Mathias Kvistgaarden
Kvistgaarden was first linked with Celtic in the final weeks of the transfer window. Reporting in Scotland and Denmark suggested the Bhoys were seriously considering him as an option to sign from Brondby.
He has an interesting profile. Still just 21, he is an emerging talent in his homeland but has already made a significant chunk of senior appearances, over 70 in total. Along the way, the striker has scored 18 goals and created 10 assists.
The Danish U21 international, a former teammate of Matt O’Riley, has been in good form since reports of Celtic’s interest. He’s already netted four times and assisted on five occasions in 11 league appearances.
A player such as Kvistgaarden would provide Rodgers with serious attacking depth in the second half of the season, especially if he is still scoring regularly at Brondby by the time January rolls around.
Bringing in an in-form striker would be a welcome development in January. Kyogo Furuhashi is an undoubted first-choice pick but Hyeongyu Oh isn’t really kicking on and Daizen Maeda is more effective on the wing.
Quentin Merlin
The left-back position is one considered to be a priority for many Celtic fans. Greg Taylor is a strong presence at the club and has performed well over the last couple of seasons. However, Celtic should always be seeking improvement and signing a genuine challenger for the position is crucial.
Alexandro Bernabei never really hit the heights under Ange Postecoglou and with Rodgers in place, the Argentinian looks even further away from producing regularly for the Bhoys.
One player said to be interesting Celtic during the window was Quentin Merlin. The Ligue 1 regular was reportedly scouted on multiple occasions by the Scottish champions, with Nantes said to have become aware of the pursuit. They were said to value him at around £7m which, while expensive for Celtic, isn’t outwith the club’s spending power.
Celtic have strong resources at the moment and bringing in players around £5m to £8m shouldn’t be seen as excessive – it’s arguably the next stage of what the recruitment cycle should be. If Merlin is high up on the recruitment team’s scouting list, it’d be great to see an investment in that position.
Caoimhin Kelleher
Kelleher plays for Liverpool and as such likely has a high valuation. In fact, it’s been reported at previous stages over the last couple of years that the Reds could be looking for a fee well north of £10m for the goalkeeper. If that is the case, buying him outright could well be out of Celtic’s reach.
Nonetheless, he’s been considered a Celtic target for quite some time. Most recently it was suggested that Brendan Rodgers believed him to be one of the best options to succeed Joe Hart long-term.
Question marks have surrounded Hart’s future for a while. He is out of contract at the end of the season and given his age, as well as his family still being based in England, there’s been a suggestion this could be his last Celtic campaign. If that is the case, we need a goalkeeper in the door as soon as possible.
Kelleher is quality player – he is the cup and European goalkeeper under Jurgen Klopp and is trusted within the Anfield set-up. If Celtic could work out a deal to bring him to Glasgow it would not only be a coup but solve a big problem on the not-too-distant horizon.