Celtic sleepwalking towards £40m catastrophe – verdict
Celtic are surely sleepwalking towards an inevitable defeat in the play-off round of the Champions League as the wait for new signings goes on at Parkhead.
Martin O’Neill has been calling for a major overhaul of the first-team squad for several months now, but the reality of the summer has been completely different so far.
Camilo Duran remains the only new addition to the squad that was pushed to the very end in the Scottish Premiership last season, and the supporters are growing ever more frustrated as a result.
The opening game of their title defence is now just 10 days away, while their Champions League play-off clash is also rapidly approaching on the horizon.
The Bhoys will learn their opponents when the draw is made on 3 August, with the first leg of the all-important tie to be played on 18 or 19 August.
O’Neill still believes that his squad are significantly underprepared for the upcoming season, and he has little time to get the house in order before their European date.
Celtic have stood still since Brendan Rodgers disaster
Celtic’s penalty-shootout defeat to Kazakhstan outfit Kairat Almaty was arguably the low point of their entire campaign last time out, as they were embarrassed at the final hurdle before the league phase of the Champions League.
That was arguably one of the final nails in the coffin for former boss Brendan Rodgers, and there is a strong feeling that the squad hasn’t really progressed at all since then.
With just one new face through the door and Arne Engels seemingly heading for the exit, if anything, the club are worse off than they were this time 12 months ago.
O’Neill recently admitted that the current group is “not strong enough to compete” at a meeting with Irish fan groups in early July, as per The Scottish Sun, and that should be enough to set the alarm bells ringing.
Last year’s defeat to Kairat saw Celtic miss out on £40million in revenue, Football Insider analysis shows, and falling at the same stage would likely provide a similarly huge hit to their coffers this time around.
With just two competitive games on the cards before that encounter, it is almost certain that O’Neill will head into that two-legged tie with holes in the squad, and several players not at full match sharpness after the World Cup.
As a result, it feels increasingly likely that they are staring down the barrel of another embarrassing exit, with time rapidly running out to seal new signings and bed them into the squad.
Celtic board haggling again for Mika Baur transfer
Celtic are now chasing a deal for Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur, but have found it difficult to make progress into the final stages of the transfer.
The 22-year-old is expected to have a huge future ahead of him, after he notched four goals and five assists from the middle of the park in Bundesliga 2 last term.
The starlet is out of contract at Paderborn in the summer of 2027, and the German side are prepared to let him go for just £4million as a result.
However, the Celtic board are not willing to meet that asking price, and are haggling for a cheaper deal once again, rather than just paying the money needed, much to the annoyance of the fans.