Duels: Who was Ange’s best signing in his first season?

Signed in the January window from Ange’s old club, Yokohama F Marinos, Maeda was the top scorer in the J-League with 23 goals. A player with lightning pace, he tormented Scottish defences from the get go, scoring on his debut against Hibernian. His work rate is phenomenal. He made 16 appearances for Celtic, scoring a further 8 goals to add to his tally of 23 in Japan. 

One of Ange’s early signings, he was plagued by injury in the first part of the season. Top score in the Eredivisie, he came with a big reputation. He certainly started to live up to it in the second half of the season, scoring two hat-tricks and becoming joint top score in the league with 13 goals. One to watch next season, we exppect big things from him.

An instant hit after signing in the January window, Hatate hit the ground running, first with a screamer against Hearts reminiscent of Shunsuke Nakamara’s goal against Rangers 1872 in 2008, which was then followed up with a brace against the Ibrox side in his Glasgow Derby debut. Tired a bit towards the end of the season due to having played a full J-League season, but still made 17 appearances, scoring 4 goals in total. He will be one to watch next season.

One of Ange’s first round of signings, the little Japanese striker made an immediate impact, netting a hat-trick against Dundee in August. He immediately became a fan favourite, scoring some amazing goals before tearing his hamstring badly at Christmas. He managed 20 appearances in total, scoring 12 goals in the process.

Signed on loan from Tottenham late in the summer window, Cameron “The tank” Carter-Vickers has gone on to become something of a cult hero in his season with Celtic. Rock solid in defence and a no nonsense centre back, Celtic will hopefully negotiate his permanent signing in the close season. He made 33 appearances for the club, scoring four goals in the process.

Signed in the summer transfer window for a steal at £2.5 million from Legia Warsaw, Croatian international Juranovic was thrown in at the deep end against the Ibrox side in the August Glasgow Derby. In that game, he played as a left back, despite being a natural right back. Acquitted himself well and became a regular playing 26 times, while also scoring 3 times during his debut season.  

Signed late in the January window from MK Dons for a steal at £1,5 million, O’ Riley was an immediate hit. He looked like a player who been playing for Celtic for years and wasn’t in the slightest fazed by the rough and tumble of Scottish football. A solid performer in every game he played, he notched an impressive 4 goals from central midfield in 16 appearances. A player who we can expect big things from in the future. 

Winger Felipe Jota was brought in on loan from Benfica late in the summer transfer window. He made an immediate impact with his mazy runs on the wings. Another consistent performer, he played 29 times and scored 10 goals in a very successful season. Celtic are currently in negotiations to sign him permanently. 

Another of Ange’s early signings, 19 year old winger Liel Abada hit the ground running by scoring against Midtjyland on his European debut. Went on to score some crucial goals during his first campaign, especially that winner against Dundee Utd in January. He made 36 appearances, scoring 10 goals in the process.

Signed from Rubin Kazan in the summer window, Starfelt had a bit of shaky start to his Celtic career. However, he grew into his role in central defence and became a solid performer alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers in his first season. Prone to the odd silly mistake, but a soild centre back overall, he made 35 appearances in his debut season.