johnreid 
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Sport
The January transfer window isn’t the easiest time to sign players. Teams are often reluctant to sale, and it is often easier to do deals for the summer, when players are set to be out of contract.
However, Celtic have been busy in the window so far, signing the Japanese trio of Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Only time will tell if the trio go on to have success at Celtic Park. There have been players that have signed for the Hoops in January, that have go on to have great careers at the club. Here are three of the best January purchases made by the Bhoys:
CRAIG BELLAMY
Perhaps a bit of a controversial choice, as when Bellamy joined Celtic in 2005, the Hoops failed to go on to win the title. But he was such a talented player that he practically kept Celtic in the title race in the first-place.
The Welsh striker, who joined the Bhoys on loan from Newcastle, turned in a series of great performances, with a hat-trick versus Dundee United and superb goals against Aberdeen and Rangers being particularly memorable.
Sadly all Bellamy earned from his time in Glasgow was a Scottish Cup winners medal, but he was an extremely exciting player in his short time with Celtic.
GEORGIOS SAMARAS
The Greek striker joined the Hoops initially on loan from Manchester City in 2008, and scored some big goals against the likes of Aberdeen and Motherwell to help the Bhoys win the title.
Samaras then signed a permanent deal with Celtic, and stayed at the club until 2014, winning four league titles in total.
On his day Samaras could be unplayable, you only need to look at his performance against Rangers in the 2-0 win at Ibrox in January 2011 for an example of that.
Whilst he could at times be frustrating, there was always the chance that Samaras could put up with a big, and he did that numerous times during the six years he was at Celtic Park.
STUART ARMSTRONG
The midfielder signed for the Bhoys in 2015 from Dundee United, and immediately became a fan favourite, due to his ability to finding the back of the net from midfield.
Whilst Armstrong had been signed by Ronny Deila, the best of him came when Brendan Rodgers was appointed the Celtic boss in 2016.
Armstrong thrived under Rodgers, and was one of the best players at the club in the legendary ‘invincibles’ season of 2016/17. It is just a pity that Armstrong didn’t stay at Celtic for longer, as he departed the Bhoys in the summer of 2018.
Armstrong might not have been at Celtic for long, but he was very impressive in his three year spell at the club.
