Celtic were in for a tough summer transfer market as loads of players were set to depart from the club. Fan favourite Kieran Tierney also went on to leave the club for English heavyweights Arsenal. Their recruitment drive started slow, but they did well to make a bunch of signings in the last few weeks to add ample quality and squad depth.
Lennon’s men might have crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers, but they have done relatively well apart from that setback. They are into yet another cup final, and they have also bagged a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Players who joined in the summer like Fraser Forster, Christopher Jullien, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Hatem Abd Elhamed have shown positive signs so far. However, Lennon recently went on to indicate that the club’s recruitment drive will continue in the January transfer window as well.
Lennon recently gave a hint and said (Daily Record), “It’s a long way off (round of 32 fixtures), it’s after the January window, and we’ll look to strengthen again. Going forward, we are a threat against anyone.”
Celtic will likely look to reinforce their squad in the winter transfer period and here are three positions where we think that they need to bring in reinforcements.
Striker– Lennon has had to use Odsonne Edouard in most of the games so far as Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Issouf Bayo haven’t looked good enough. They have also struggled with injuries, and the manager needs someone who can take some goal scoring burden off the French striker. An injury to Edouard can derail Celtic’s campaign, and we expect a striker to be high on Celtic’s agenda in January.
Left-winger– Scott Sinclair has been entirely ignored by Lennon, and it is clear that he doesn’t have a future at the club. Lewis Morgan is also unlikely to be a long term option. Therefore the club might look to sign a left winger in January. Elyounoussi has done well so far in that position, but we think that Celtic might find it hard to sign him permanently once his loan spell expires.
Goalkeeper– Fraser Forster has been rock solid in goal for the Bhoys, but again the fact of the matter is that he is only on a season-long loan. It remains to be seen whether the Hoops will look to turn his deal into a permanent one or not. Craig Gordon is in the final year of his contract, and we believe that he would leave the club once his deal expires in the summer of 2020. Hence the Hoops should be on the lookout for a goalkeeper.
