Celtic will regret Marcelo Saracchi deal collapsing over wages after Kieran Tierney latest

Celtic's failure to sign Marcelo Saracchi permanently in the summer looks like a bigger mistake with every passing week.

The Hoops fell to a third defeat and a second loss to Rangers in a week on Sunday at Parkhead.

Martin O'Neill's job is in serious doubt following those results, with rumours circling of him potentially being set to walk away from the club.

The Celtic manager's tough job has not been helped by injury issues to several key players, with Kieran Tierney a particularly prominent example.

He has struggled with maintaining fitness throughout his second spell at the club, and has pulled out of the latest Scotland squad with another injury.

Celtic's left-back problems look set to rear their head throughout this campaign, given his troubled track record, and they could have been solved by signing Saracchi in the summer.

Celtic's failure to sign Marcelo Saracchi was a clear transfer blunder

Saraachi joined Celtic on loan from Boca Juniors ahead of last season and registered one goal and two assists in 27 games across all competitions for the Scottish giants.

He was mainly used as a back-up to Tierney, but often came on from the bench to make a real impression.

The Uruguayan left-back even completed his loan spell with a key contribution to the Hoops' title-winning clash against Hearts in May, starting the attack that led to their important second goal.

Celtic were seemingly close to signing him permanently in the summer, with O'Neill publicly keen to get a cut-price £1.3million deal done, yet they were unwilling to match Saracchi's wage demands and so failed to complete the move.

Tierney has been a regular at left-back this season, but still struggles to complete 90 minutes and is now fully out injured, with his return timeline currently unclear.

The Scottish star has completed the full 90 in just 18 of his 62 appearances since returning to Celtic in 2025.

Chelsea loanee Landon Emenalo is supposed to be providing competition to him this season, but is currently out injured too, and is unproven in senior football regardlessSar

Celtic's problems could have been solved before they even arose if they simply stumped up enough to get Saracchi's permanent signature over the line.

Saracchi wanted to stay at Celtic after successful loan spell

One thing many Celtic fans have pointed out so far this season is the perceived lack of effort and fight from their players.

Saracchi wore his heart on his sleeve for the Bhoys, and clearly loved playing for them, as shown by the exit message he posted to Instagram in July.

Speaking out on the collapsed move, Saracchi took to Instagram to say: "Dear Celtic fans. I'm writing this to say goodbye. We had an intense, beautiful year together where we achieved so many of our goals.

"My agent and I did absolutely everything within our power to make a return to Glasgow happen. I'm truly gutted that I won't be able to continue at the club at this stage of my career. However, I know our paths will cross again in the future."

Failing to sign him certainly looks like a mistake, and may well have contributed directly to O'Neill's likely exit in the coming weeks.