Celtic's 2025/26 Summer transfer window: Stage: Blochairn hovering over the Panic button

I think it's becoming increasingly clear that we're not going to spend any money unless someone leaves. All the rumours are for kids and cheap squad options, there's not really anything in the pipeline that suggests we're seriously looking to upgrade the starting XI beyond Tierney.

Maybe it makes sense to do it that way, we do have a lot of players in most positions. But I notice we're quite happy to take on more <£1m players without actually moving any on first. They're like crack to our board. "There's a second division Korean defender playing in Ho Chi Min City? Aw, what's the harm in another wee flutter, get him in".

If we need to sell before we make another serious signing, * get on with it. I'd like to see a window open and a slew of players who aren't goni make it get deals announced immediately. Even if it's at a small loss, get them off the books, open up the squad to someone with a chance to make it.

 

That's exactly how it should be in an ideal world, and while Celtic certainly drag the * out of stuff at times, I think your expectations there are unrealistic. Ultimately there are a number of moving parts in transfers and even the richest clubs still haggle over fees and play the game with agents and selling clubs.
We will likely do what we always do and wait until CL status is confirmed before making big money moves - it's frustrating for us as fans but it is what it is at this point, we know how the board operate.

 

Not even July 16th yet and we’ve signed 4 players


Utterly insane

 

Two replacements in for Taylor and the soon to leave Kuhn. Project striker and 3rd choice keeper. So still need 2 or 3 first team ready signings. Obviously KT is an upgrade. Not really getting the this is wonderful so far spin. Obviously loads of time yet though

 

I don't know if it's unrealistic to have dead wood shipped out at the start of a window when you've known for months - years in some cases - that they're just not going to make it here.

Part of me is just whingeing about the model, you're right. I just don't see why we need to wait for CL football or a player we know is leaving to eventually leave when we've got £70+m sat in the bank. It should be invested into footballers so it can accrue some value rather than sitting gathering peanuts in interest. We're just sitting on it again. * me off.

 

Completely agree with your second point.

As far as speed of transfers in and out goes, I will give the club some latitude that it isn't as simple as just wanting rid of someone and having a deal lined up as soon as the window is open, same for our incoming targets. Players and club staff are either on holiday or playing internationals. As long as the moves get completed and the best deal for all parties then I'm not too worried about the timing. We had people panicking because the huns made 6/7 signings by July last year and they were all dogshit.

My biggest concern is the CL qualifier and our squad being as prepped and strong as possible for that. The window being open past the start of the domestic campaign has always annoyed me though and I think if we only had 8 weeks in June and July to get business done the process would be a lot more streamlined through necessity.

 

If you look at the 4 signings

Doohan - Third Choice GK

KT upgrade on Taylor no doubt about it.

Nygren - Can play on the right and centre attacking midfield- handy addition.

Osmand - Third choice forward.

Have we addressed issues from last season? Over all? No I don’t think we have still time in the window but with the other players who have been linked to us from Japan it’s very underwhelming.

Can see us having 1-2 big departures this summer as we normally make profits in each window from player sales to balance the books.

 

There really needs to be a self-help group for Celtic fans during transfer windows. I found myself getting pretty wound-up by our lack of action in previous windows, but this is very early days and signings are in way ahead of last year.

Posters here moaning that we haven't signed 2 entire first team ready squads by the 2nd week of July really need to get off the internet and relax.

 

I used to get worked up about it. I just ended up realising what's the * point? More important things in my life than Celtic's net spend.

 

Think forn me as a few others have said you will see us in the next few weeks focus on outgoings more than incoming after Inamura

 

It's the hope that kills you.


As I said last week as well, 4 in at this time is actually very good.

But, always a but, the quality and how the signings have came about aren't anything to shout about.
KT was a known quantity for months, a pre season agreed months ago with him and the club, but a signing we all knew was happening a year ago, * even the noise about it started when he had his loan to Sociedad!
Getting a pat on the back for the Tierney deal, isn't well deserved for the board.

After that, we've signed a 3rd choice keeper who we deemed two years ago not to be good enough. I mean no disrespect to the lad and perhaps we should be smarter about buy back options if loans arent possible for some of our young talent. but again, how excited can fans really get about a bain replacement that in theory is worse than bain.
It's a signing made to tick a quota box, not one to cheer about either.

Osmand, I've hope that it's another step in the Dembele/Oriely direction. 18 and taken from the PL2. Can only assume he's been promised some first team action, because * help the lad if he's given up PL2 for our B Squad.
It's a punt of a signing, it's worked in the past, but it truly is a punt of a signing.

Nygren intrigues me, aside from KT, it's the one we can be excited about moving straight in to the match day squad. The "problem" for fans is, combined with all of the above, it's a cheap signing and low risk. Most things point to him probably being good, but it's low risk and not doing much for improving the squad.

Which is what we all need/want to see.
Improvements, instantly recognised signings that improve the first 11.

But with all of the above, the feeling early doors is much the same as the extremely vast majority of the transfer windows we've had since 2003. It's cheap punts, little rumours to get excited about, a feeling that we are keeping the wallet closed and not wanting to spend til the usual "know what European competition we are in", which is mad because that was the excuse for years and even when we had that run of group stage UCL, we still didn't exactly spend big or push early with our main signings anyway. A silly excuse some like to cling on to.

Many of us done the whole "right looks like Ange has taken the club by the scruff" and thought we had turned a corner with regards our transfer dealings.
Quickly we all realised that was just an Ange thing and even then mainly at the first window when Dom McKay had control and not any influence from PL or a lacky of his.
That died off even during Ange reign.

Rodgers came in and we thought he wouldn't accept the * of his first stint. How wrong was that for the first season.
Second season we woke the * up it seems, some grumbles about the price for Idah aside, think most of us are happy with last summer. It was on the back of Rodgers making comments and seeing the likes of ML booted out the door.
Turned another corner.
Then we got to January and a damp squib that was again.

Here we are and it yet again feels like the usual sort of transfer windows.

It 100% is still early, very * early in the window, to ger 2-4 players in is good, only 2 walk in to the match day squad, the other two don't.
But everything else around the window and the club feels very much like every other window outside of last summer and the brief spell that Ange has his way.

PL and the board have that knack though, to give the fans (and the manager) just enough to think things be different, but they really aren't.

Maybe this will be different this window, again. But I, and many others, have seen this play out and it feels the same.
The other guys have also seen all of us grumble along as well, and yea there are the odd signings that make a difference, but not many make a sudden and impactful improvement on the squad for us and that's annoying.
Something we all see all the time.

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This is football it’s not about relaxing. If we wanted to relax we’d try yoga

 

I've been meaning to try Yoga for ages. Think I'll practice what I'm preaching and stay away from the teeth gnashing and mouth foaming for the next month! Looking forward to the signings when I return!

PS - I'll be back later today most likely...

 

I just have a wee peek every now and again these days as everything was like groundhog day season after season when it came to the transfer windows. I now tend to wait until we see whoever we sign standing in Celtic Park with a Celtic scarf held aloft

 

Not always down to the board waiting for CL group stages tbh, a lot of cases it will be players waiting to see if we will be playing in CL or Europa if they come to us...it's * but just the way it is these days, players want to play in the biggest tourney to showcase themselves for their 'mega move to PL, Bundesliga, La Liga etc.'

 

Agree with almost all of this....Other than the Nygren comment, I dont understand....'he is probably good, cheap and low-risk'....is that not the perfect signing.....give me more Good, Cheap low Risk players any day

 

The business done so far is good i think.

I guess the concern for me is that we may now be looking at only bringing in first team players to replace leaving ones rather than to add quality.

In central defence we need to improve on last year. But it could be the case that having spent 6m on trusty the club arent prepared to write that off after 1 season. So trusty will be given time improve as a starter rather than we go and buy someone who can look to come in as 1st choice.

In midfield i think we need to strengthen. But i suspect the view taken will be mcgregor plays every game and we have 4 other mids competing for 2 slots. So no ambition to bring in someone there unless we sell first.

Up front, idah cost 9m so i think he will be afforded more time to improve to justify that fee. Maeda can play there and osmund and this japanese guy have been brought in to develop. We arent selling idah this window do unless maeda goes im not sure we spend here.

Out wide we have got nygren in and if we sell kuhn i imagine most of the money will go towards another wide player.

So i think we probably need a stronger player at cb and up front but idah and trusty are likely to get at least another season which could block that.

In midfield id like to add some power in there but again, may not happen unless we sell a midfielder.

 

You're probably right yeah, think I'm just concerned if he didn't turn out good, then it's another low price risk rather than spending properly on a known player. But again, that's me being harsh as well.

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But this is what we (the panty wetters) are constantly told every window.
"Just wait"

Then when the window closes, often enough there is an excuse for it as well and it's waved off.

I'm more calm than my posts likely come across, for now. As I say, this is still very early and the 4 in (even though I can debate the calibre of two of them) is positive in the whole. But it's far from scratching the work needing done and we look like we are back to what we are always doing.

Can you blame some of us really when we've been through this window after window and even when it closes and it's unsatisfactory, we still get shot down for moaning?

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