Brendan Rodgers was dumbing down on any expectations of a late flurry of activity as the Transfer Window comes to a close tonight.
At the start of the week there was strong suggestions that Celtic were looking to bring in five players but with just over 10 hours to go until the window closes that target looks highly unlikely.
Luis Palma was signed from ARIS Thessalonica on a five year contract with that deal announced on Wednesday, on Thursday at 4pm Nat Phillips was announced as a loan signing from Liverpool.
Rodgers did briefly discuss Benfica midfielder Paolo Bernardo who is expected to join on loan but beyond that there was no hint of further incoming activity.
1 minute 50 seconds
Asked about more arrivals later today, he admitted
I’m not so sure, I don’t think that there will be many more coming in.
If transfer business ends with Bernardo it is bound to be a major disappointment to supporters who finished last season with high hopes which were strengthened by the speed in which Rodgers came in to replace Ange Postecoglou.
Soon afterwards the club announced the signings of Odin Thiago Holm from Valerenga and Marco Tilio from Melbourne City. Injury has so far ruled Tilio out of action.
The Korean duo of Hyun-Jun Yang and Hyeok-Kyu Kwon arrived on five year contract but the first team pool was starting to look thin with the sale of Jota to Al Ittihad and the retirement of Aaron Mooy.
Maik Nawrocki was a clear first team candidate but his arrival was soon matched by the sale of Cal Starfelt with Gustaf Lagerbielke arriving just as Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh and Cameron Carter-Vickers were ruled out for two months with a variety of injuries.
Fans had been hoping for a repeat of the last day of the summer 2021 transfer window when Jota, Carter-Vickers and Giorgos Giakoumakis were paraded as signings but based on today’s media conference it looks like Bernardo will be the last arrival of the summer.
UPDATE
Strangely in a seperate interview with Sky Sports Rodgers seemed more upbeat about players (plural) being signed tonight.
🌍 Champions League draw
📝 Celtic could sign more than one
⬅️ Ajeti and Haksabanovic latest
⭐️ O’Riley importance stressedBrendan Rodgers provides a update on Celtic’s potential #DeadlineDay plans ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hqVe74N2o4
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 1, 2023
There’s a number of players still to confirm to come in
2 Comments
by Johnno
If that’s us done for the summer window then bit of a mixed bag imo.
Pleased we have addressed squad depth, as we became way to reliant upon certain players when injuries hit us last season, and performances dropped off as a result, thankfully they didn’t impact as as much as they could have done, so in that regards we look in better shape with more options available, even if it’s taking a bit of time to see that worth in strategy, but confident enough it will benifit ourselves in the longer run and potentially beyond this season also.
The disappointment remains in the keeper and LB positions left untouched, where strengthening options were expected, especially when big Ben don’t really seem to be part of Rodgers plans either.
Thought another Scottish player would be bought in, especially with CL in mind, and turnbull looking likely to run his contact down?
Maybe a return of Stuart Armstrong could have helped that situation, and still believe he could have offered us more than turnbull seems to provide for ourselves, especially in the bigger games?
Not convinced either that Rodgers has got the team set up that he would really like still, yet big improvements needed for the weekend, but with more options becoming available now, expecting a better return in performance than a lot of the shite we’ve witnessed to date
by KC67
Lawwell senior has handed the scattergun to junior. Positions that needed upgrading totally ignored. You would think the board are doing it on purpose to piss off the fans, their incompetence knows no bounds
Nothing will change until the Desmonds and the Lawwells are gone. Unfortunately for the fans that could be a long time.