Celtic are weaker going into this season and it’s a worry- Chris Sutton agrees with fan worries

Chris Sutton fears that Celtic are going to come out of the transfer window much weaker than they finished last season.

It took a fortnight to appoint Brendan Rodgers as the successor to Ange Postecoglou but the definite transfer plans under the Australian have been replaced by a half-hearted approach to strengthening the Starting XI.

Injuries have hit the club badly over the last fortnight but that has only served to highlight the lack of quality beyond the recognised first team side.

Six weeks after the sale of Jota there is no sign of any comparable replacement which contrasts with January when Alistair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu were signed up and playing before the anticipated departures of Josip Juranavic and Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Under Postecoglou around 70% of signings made an impact on the first team with the emphasis on players in their mid-twenties ready to go straight in and make a first team impact.

The bar is now far higher than in was two years ago when the former Yokohama F Marinos boss replaced Neil Lennon but two or three signings in the price range and calibre of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota would have been far more effective than hoping that a couple of projects can burst through in the manner of Jeremie Frimpong or Kris Ajer.

Time is running out to bring in new additions with just one more match to be played before Celtic head to Ibrox to face highly motivated opponents.

Celtic have work to do and need to do it quickly…your thoughts?👇👇 https://t.co/PTvmU1UyD3

— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) August 22, 2023

I think they’ve sat on their hands too much during this transfer window. They let Jota go for £25million, Aaron Mooy has gone, they have injuries to key defenders and they let Carl Starfelt go.

I thought that was a baffling decision as they should have kept him until the end of the window. Carter-Vickers and Starfelt were the rocks for Celtic under Ange Postecoglou. Celtic never lost a domestic game with that partnership.

I think Celtic are weaker going into this season and it’s a worry.

So that’s a worry and at this moment in time, looking at the Champions League where they are always up against it, the squad is looking really weak and short.

What it might do though, is give them a kick up the backside to bring in, not just development players, but those who are ready to go into the first team and take Celtic up another level.

Most of the Celtic support thought Brendan was the best man to come back for his coaching credentials and the best man for the job.

But what we do know north of the border is that the climate can change very quickly. Seeing stuff online about how Celtic played, a lot of supporters are unhappy.

They didn’t create opportunities and that could become a problem. They now play Rangers in a couple of weeks and that’s an enormous game, as Michael Beale hasn’t got off to a flier either.

Since the defeat at Kilmarnock on Sunday there hasn’t been a credible rumour over a new signing with fans on social media trying to read the signs about Kieran Tierney and Jota returning to Celtic.