Celtic’s ‘massive’ mid-season recruitment drive should eliminate any concerns about squad depth, Paddy Kenny has told Football Insider.
The lowdown
With less than a third of the January transfer window gone, the Hoops have already made four additions to their squad. Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda have all arrived from the J1 League, while Johnny Kenny has joined from Irish outfit Sligo Rovers.
Hatate cost £1.38m, Ideguchi £640,000 and Kenny £135,000, while Maeda signed on an initial loan with an option to buy. That’s a total expenditure of £2.2m, comfortably the highest in the Premiership so far.
Celtic don’t appear to be stopping there, either. On Sunday morning, The Daily Mail reported that they were closing in on a deal for Riley McGree, who is currently on loan at English Championship side Birmingham City. The Charlotte FC midfielder is valued at £540,000 by Transfermarkt.
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The latest
Kenny has commended the Celtic board for matching Postecoglou’s ambitions in the market this month, believing that they look set to be in a stronger position to reclaim the Premiership title from Rangers come the end of the season.
The former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper told Football Insider: “You can never have too many good players. The good thing for the manager is that this is now looking like his squad.
“He has been relentless in his effort to get these players in, it’s great to see.
‘”It’s massive compared to last season. Streamlining the squad is only going to make Celtic better as well.
“I think they struggled with depth earlier this season, I don’t think that will be an issue now.”
The verdict
Postecoglou did seem to be frustrated by what he considered inadequate squad depth. In December, he said injuries ‘wouldn’t be as much of an issue’ if he had more options to call upon.
Crucially, many of the players he has brought into the club offer tremendous versatility. Hatate can play left-back, and on the left and in the middle of midfield; Ideguchi can operate as a number 6, 8 or 10; and forward Maeda can be deployed out wide or through the middle.
Having that extra cover in multiple positions will no doubt be significant for the club as they look to achieve their domestic and continental ambitions, so it’s little wonder that Kenny has been impressed by their January transfer business so far.
In other news, Celtic are also getting nearer to this double deal
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