The summer transfer window turned out to be a chaotic one for new boss Ange Postecoglou. The late sales of stars Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie meant Celtic fans headed into this season with worries about how they would cope without some of their best players over the last few years.
Poste has started the season not too badly. At the time of writing, Celtic sit four points behind ‘Rangers’ in the Premiership table, as well as being four points behind Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa league group. Most of the success this season has been down to some of their summer incomings. Joe Hart has provided a steady presence in goal, while 26-year-old Kyogo Furuhashi has been phenomenal since joining Celtic, bagging 13 goals in his 17 starts.
But Celtic will still look to improve. They can use some of the money gained in the summer to improve their squad. With Steven Gerrard leaving ‘Rangers’ in midseason, the title is very much up for grabs for Celtic and the right additions in January could tip them over their rivals.
Keep hold of their stars of this season
Objective number 1 for Celtic has to be keeping Kyogo Furuhashi. While his campaign has been hampered by a knee injury, Furuhashi is quickly becoming a fan favourite, and star for Celtic. He is still young in his Celtic career, and if you were to lose him in January, there is almost no way possible that you could get a player that could give you similar output.
Celtic have already got 10 clean sheets this season, with a big part of that being because of the defensive work from Anthony Ralston and Carl Starfelt. Both have made more than 20 starts each for the Glasgow team, stepping up after the club sold Kristoffer Ajer in the summer. Celtic can’t make the mistake of breaking up a proven defensive partnership that has been crucial to the success they have had to start the season. You won’t want to make the mistake of missing out on some of www.novibet.co.uk/sports funs bets.
Take advantage of the Loan Market
Celtic only loaned in one player in the summer, with Jota giving mixed results so far. They need to take advantage of players from the Premier League who are looking to be loaned out in January. Making a move for players who have been forgotten by their managers can secure high quality talent.
There are really two different groups of players available for loans. You have youngsters who aren’t ready for playing time at their clubs. Players like Anthony Elanga, Malang Sarr and Japhet Tanganga could all be loaned out in January, to the advantage of Celtic. Celtic may also look at veterans, now in back up roles. Players like Ross Barkley, Juan Mata and Manuel Lanzini are all former starters who could look to revitalise their careers in Glasgow.
Secure Daizen Maeda
Poste has extensive knowledge of the Japanese, and so it is not too surprising that Furuhashi has performed so well for Celtic. With the loss of Ryan Christie, getting another forward in could be vital for Celtic. They have been linked extensively with Maeda, who played for Postecoglou at Yokohama F Marinos, alongside Furuhashi.
Maeda would provide another exciting attacker, just entering their prime. Celtic needed a revamp of their attack and considering how well Futuhashi was played since coming in, it would make sense to go for another attacker who has been coached by Maeda. It seems like such an easy move, for a player who succeeded under Poste already.
