Stephen McGowan has named nine Celtic players that could be on the move this month.
Could is the operative word, all but three of them Yosuke Ideguchi, Mikey Johnston and David Turnbull have been signed in the last three transfer windows and are unlikely to be in a rush to move out in mid-season unless there is the unlikely prospect of a salary increase.
Ideguchi has been out on loan for the last year with his return to Japan appearing to be a formality with Celtic recovering the 1m euros fee that they paid out in January 2022.
An over emphasis on project signings with no obvious pathway into the first team has caused the logjam and a bloated first team squad of 33 at the start of the season which didn’t include those out on loan such as Sead Haksabanovic.
In the Daily Mail, McGowan writes:
The list of surplus players facing a tap on the shoulder is lengthy. Goalkeeper Benji Siegrist recently changed agent with a view to sourcing first-team football in January. Argentine left-back Alexandro Bernabei simply hasn’t worked out and will surely move on to make room for a replacement. Nat Phillips has already ended his loan agreement and returned to Liverpool and, as Mail Sport first revealed, the club will listen to offers for £3million summer signing Gustaf Lagerbielke.
With Maik Nawrocki finally staking a claim for first-team inclusion and a shoulder injury to Stephen Welsh less serious than first feared, Yuki Kobayashi is also likely to follow former first-team coach Harry Kewell to Yokohama F Marinos.
Out of contract in the summer, intrigue surrounds the situation of David Turnbull. A talented footballer, the midfielder has struggled to find the consistency required to nail down a starting slot under Rodgers and has now been overtaken in the pecking order by Paulo Bernardo.
Midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi is set to net the club £870,000 by joining Vissel Kobe in Japan when the window opens.
Signed from the South Korean second tier, Kwon Hyeok-kyu is likely to return home on loan, while Marco Tilio — currently at the Asian Cup with Australia — is emerging as the new Daniel Arzani.
Despite showing promise as an impact sub, meanwhile, Mikey Johnston has reached the stage where he needs to head elsewhere to start games consistently.
Highlighting the issue is James McCarthy who remains under contract until May 2025.
It is 14 months since he played a first team match but his current terms are unlikely to be matched elsewhere, since turning 33 he can now turn out for Celtic in the Lowland League- less than three years after playing in the EPL for Crystal Palace.
James McCarthy is like a byword for everything that has been wrong with our recruitment. He is our Winston Bogarde!