Celtic ‘£20m’ signing mooted after talks ‘between these four walls’
Celtic were determined not to waste money on deals to sign new players in January and have shifted their focus to the end of the season.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson explained that they are now more likely to spend big in the summer using prize money from their Champions League progress.
He went on to explain that there may have been internal discussions to consider that they are already likely to win the SPFL, but they have to be realistic about their European ambitions.
As a result, a £20million signing is considered more likely come the summer amid a potential rebuild and restructure of the side under Brendan Rodgers’ guidance.
The boss is said to have been left unhappy following their January activity, as he believes the club did not push hard enough to sign the players they needed.
Jota’s return and a late loan deal to sign Crystal Palace’s Jeffrey Schlupp were the only incoming deals in the mid-season window, putting them in a seemingly weaker position.
However, an injection of funds if they go on to win the league and Scottish Cup, while making progress in Europe, will allow for a more free-spending summer.
Celtic eye summer spending spree as Brendan Rodgers is ‘not happy’
Celtic lost Kyogo Furuhashi during the transfer window and were unable to find a like-for-like replacement despite Rodgers pushing to sign a new striker.
Robinson explained that the boss was left disappointed by the lack of incoming deals, but will have been appeased by the potential of a summer reshuffle amid an acceptance that the January window can be a difficult time to get deals done.
“If I was Brendan Rodgers, I’d be disappointed with the lack of signings,” he told Football Insider.
“Unless they’ve had a conversation in-house and accepted they can’t really get the players they want in January, because it’s a difficult window.
“They might say, basically, let’s be honest between these four walls, we’ve won the league. We’ve got the Scottish Cup domestically. How far realistically are we going to go in the Champions League?
“Let’s be realistic. Let’s not go and waste 10, 15, 20 million on players we don’t necessarily want.
“The players we want to get aren’t necessarily available in January.
“Maybe Brendan Rodgers didn’t think they pushed hard enough to get players.
“He’ll be disappointed with the way they are, unless there has been the conversation and the plan is now to use the Champions League money in the summer.
“Then they can plan to do a rebuild, restructure, and kick on again.”
Brendan Rodgers pushing to sign Mathias Kvistgaarden
Celtic are already putting plans in place ahead of the summer transfer window given their lack of activity in January, and are working on a deal to sign Mathias Kvistgaarden.
Football Insider exclusively revealed on 8 February that the 22-year-old has been a long-term target at Parkhead and Rodgers is leading the push to sign a new striker.
There had initially been plans to sign him late in the January window, but Brondby priced the Hoops out of a move given the timing of the deal.
However, they are expected to step up their efforts to complete a deal come the summer as Rodgers unhappy with their activity in the mid-season window.
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