‘I’ve talked to my contacts’ – Keith Wyness reacts to Celtic signings, one ‘seems to be the real deal’
Celtic have been clever in their January transfer recruitment as Martin O’Neill strengthened his squad for the title race.
That is according to ex-Aberdeen, Aston Villa, and Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after Celtic signed three players on loan on deadline day.
Striker Junior Adamu joined Celtic from Freiburg, whilst winger Joel Mvuka and defender Benjamin Arthur also moved to the Glasgow club.
The trio join Julian Araujo and Tomas Cvancara as Celtic’s January signings, with O’Neill’s side looking to overturn a six-point gap on Hearts to win the Scottish Premiership title.
Celtic January business analysed by expert
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Adamu is the “real deal.”
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks Celtic will “challenge very strongly” for the Scottish Premiership title.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Yeah, look, it’s interesting. All three that have come in have been on loan and I looked at all of them, and I am quite excited actually.
“I think all three of them do a job to strengthen the squad for Martin. And what’s interesting is, of course, Martin is there till the end of the season and so the loans are not being imposed, so they’re not new purchases being imposed on a new manager, so to speak.
“So that’s quite clever in that sense of the way they’ve done that. But I think that, yes, I think all three will do well. I think the kid from Germany could be a real talent. I’ve looked at some videos of him and talked to a couple of people in the game and said, yes, he seems to be the real deal.
“I think he could do well in the second part of the season. And I think under Martin, I think he’ll get the service that he needs. So all three of them, I think, are very good, and all three strengthen the Celtic squad right now. So I’m expecting Celtic to challenge very strongly in terms of this second half.”
Former Premier League star could join Celtic
Celtic could still add to their squad even though the January transfer window has closed, with a new midfielder potentially heading to Glasgow.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could move to Celtic as a free agent, with the 32-year-old having not had a club since being released by Besiktas in August 2025.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has experience in the Premier League with Arsenal and Liverpool, and he has won 35 England caps.