With two weeks left in the January transfer window Brendan Rodgers will soon be able to come to terms with how Celtic operates in the critical area of Recruitment.

Being diplomatic it is an area where the Report Card would suggest ‘could do better’ with the recent appointments of Paul Tisdale and hiring of David Pleat highlighting some glaring weaknesses.

It is hard to believe but this is the fourth Transfer Window since Rodgers returned to Celtic in June 2023, tragically highlighting and praising the Recruitment work of Mark Lawwell as one of the reasons for returning.

That idea had been put to Rodgers by Michael Nicholson as he discussed taking over from Ange Postecoglou- the mental scars of wanting John McGinn and being presented with Youssuf Mulumba will never fully heal over.

The reality is that Rodgers is dealing with legacy issues resulting from two good transfer windows out of the last dozen, the first two by Postecoglou alongside a massive amount of time and money wasted by the Lawwell family calling the shots.

Dad Peter brought Marian Shved, Vakoun Bayo, Ismaila Soro and Patryk Klimala to the pay-roll, all that can be said for Mark is that alongside 13 flops he was responsible for signing Alistair Johnston who replaced Josip Juranovic, the sort of succession planning that is normal at all well run football clubs.

Rodgers has virtually disregarded the summer 2023 players brought in by Lawwell Jr, four players are out on loan with Yang Hyun-jun and Luis Palma the wingers of last resort. That level of failure leaves the squad stretched and over dependent on a couple of individuals.

At the moment Celtic have around 15 or 16 credible starters, midfield is well catered for but elsewhere there are big holes in the squad with the left-back position a particular problem that should never have arisen with no-one contracted beyond the end of this season. Having more than two wingers is an absolute must the way that Rodgers sets his side up.

Kieran Tierney seems certain to be arriving at some stage but going into two huge Champions League ties Rodgers has to select between a regular that won’t sign a new deal and a loanee that has a Plan B to Como awaiting his signature.

As well as the Lawwell issues Rodgers is burdened by the ‘negotiating skills’ of Michael Nicholson to get transfer deals over the line, done and dusted. Signed off.

There is good reasons why the ‘top sports lawyer’ keeps a low profile, other than introducing Rodgers as manager the current Celtic CEO has never faced the media, not even Gerry McCulloch and the in-house team for anything other that AGM requirements.

While Postecoglou and his agent Frank Trimboli steamrollered deals through in season 21/22 the opposite is now the case where Nicholson prefers the drama and excitement of leaving transfers until the last day or two.

The summer dealing was greeted as a success by most fans since Arne Engels, Auston Trusty and Luke McCowan were signed on August 30, five weeks later two of them were getting the runaround away to Borussia Dortmund.

Had those deals and the permanent moves for Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo been  completed during the close season Rodgers would have had a full compliment of players to work with over the three match trip to the USA. Instead there were no outfield additions to the squad- Kasper Schmeichel and Biljami Sinisalo replaced Joe Hart and Ben Siegrist.

From all of the evidence Nicholson sees no urgency in getting transfers completed.

Finalising transfer deals is a specialised skill, other than when the Postecoglou-Trimboli double act were running the show it seems to be one that no-one inside Celtic is armed with that quality, characteristic.

From talking to an agent and someone involved in recruitment at EPL level Nicholson has to put in calls to Peter to steer him through negotiations, sometimes the call has to go to an even higher authority before the current Celtic CEO can sign it off.

Despite currently sitting on a bank balance of around £100m it seems that there is an assumption that Celtic’s level of January spending is dependent on this season’s Champions League fate.

That seems ridiculous. Of more importance in terms of both football and finance is qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Signing at least one winger and settling the left-back situation should have been dealt with by now, in trademark fashion it looks like it will only be in the final days of the January window that any additions will be brought to Celtic.

During the summer there are likely to be departures, it could be Kuhn or Kyogo Furuhashi, it could be both with time at a premium in pre-season to prepare for two rounds of Champions League qualifiers.

This time around Nir Bitton won’t be around to fill in as an emergency central defender.

There is a lack of urgency and forward thinking about Celtic’s recruitment. Funds are certainly in place, big prizes are available through next season’s Champions League but it is impossible to get away from the feeling that the massive bank balance is viewed as a contingency against failing to reach next season’s competition rather than being used to give the manager and club the best possible chance to be in it, building on the improvements and experiences of the current campaign.

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BARRY FERGUSON REVEALS CLEMENT’S £10M IBROX TALENT

The distressed signals have been flying out of Ibrox in the last few days but there is good news for anxious bears with Barry Ferguson putting a £10m price tag on Hamza Igamane after starting just 15 matches.

Last Saturday newly installed CEO Paddy Stewart met the media messengers with austerity screaming out of every comment as expectations were drummed down without spelling out just how drastic finances are inside the club.

Phil Clement’s future was the main headline on the back of dropping more points away to Hibs and Dundee but it wasn’t too difficult to pick up on the cash problems at the club.

One, possibly two players could arrive this month despite a crisis in central defence while it is clear from the summer activities that a deal can be cut if any club is interested in signing any of Clement’s players.

The media messengers try to overlook it but just £810,00 was raised from the sales of Sam Lammers, Connor Goldson, Todd Cantwell, Robbie McCrorie and Scott Wright.

That information had to be disclosed by the Auditors in the 2024 Annual Report, every club and agent in the game took note with the consequences to be felt this month and in the summer as attempts are made to clear the highly paid deadwood.

Rather than deal with realities Ferguson and others are talking up anyone, everyone. After just three matches Ross McCausland is comparing Clinton Nsiala to Virgil Van Dijk.

In the Daily Record Ferguson is comparing Igamane to Michael Mols, that is the Mols from the first four months of his Rangers career, the guy that scored 48 goals over five years at Ibrox and living off the ‘what if’ moment of being injured against Bayern Munich.

Today, Record readers are treated to:

For those five months, he was without doubt the best striker I ever played with. For me, Mikey could have gone on to become one of the best strikers anywhere in British football. Trust me, he was that good.

So, as much as I don’t want to make any direct comparisons or to stick an unrealistic label on anyone’s back, I have to admit I’m getting Mikey Mols flashbacks every time I see Hamza Igamane pull on a Rangers shirt.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not for one minute saying that Igamane is on the same level as Michael was at his peak. There’s a long, long way for the young man to go before he gets there. But I do see glimpses of Michael every time I watch Igamane play. The wee flicks, the mad things he does – he’ll chest the ball, keep it up four times on his head and then backheel it somebody – and the clinical way he finishes chances in front of goal.

Ferguson added:

For the time being it’s a case of enjoying him for as long as he’s still at the club because he may not be around for all that long. Of course, Rangers supporters won’t want to hear that and I’m in the same boat. When a talent as exciting as this comes around the last thing you think about is letting him go again.

In an ideal world Igamane is the kind of player you build a team around for years and years to come. But there has to be a sense of realism where the club’s current position is concerned. Rangers are a selling club and, like it or not, that means they may soon be made an offer which they can’t possibly turn down.

Just to be clear, I don’t think that’ll happen during the January transfer window. That would be way too soon. In my mind I’d love to see him stay for the rest of this season and maybe another one after that. But, again, it’s important to remain realistic. And the realist inside me expects some big bids to start arriving over the coming summer.

Let’s not forget, this is a kid Rangers signed for £1.5m. If someone out there is prepared to pay around £10m – or maybe even more than that – for him within 12 months, then that’s exactly the model Rangers need.

Igamane and his agents will be interested to know that players like Jack Butland, James Tavernier, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo are all being paid over £30,000 a week which probably equates to Igamane’s monthly pay.

While Ferguson, McCausland and others try to generate transfer interest it is left to Clement to serve up cold, hard reality in his twice weekly media conferences

1 minute 30 seconds

QUESTION: Is it something that you feel you need to do, maybe move some bodies out before bringing some in or just at the same time?

CLEMENT: It is something that will be necessary for the club, that is a club decision and like it was the same decisions in the summer (when five under contract players were moved on for a combined fee of £810,000). That is the situation for the moment, in the club to do things here.

It has already been made public that Kieran Dowell and Matondo are ‘free’ to go, finding clubs to match their salaries won’t be easy! Losing anyone getting paid over £20,000 a week would be welcomed by the accountants but like Dowell and Matondo it is unlikely that they will find their wages being matched elsewhere in January.

While Ferguson and others deflect and deny, Stewart and Koppen are desperately trying to get bodies off the pay-roll with a summer style clear out the target whatever the consequences on Clement’s exciting young team.