Don’t Be Fooled – This Celtic Transfer Window Has Been a Disaster

There is a danger that as supporters we convince ourselves that everything is suddenly fine.

A few late deals.

A couple of exciting names.

A big-money midfielder potentially arriving.

And suddenly the narrative becomes that Celtic have had a successful transfer window.

Don’t be fooled.

The bigger picture is far less flattering.

We entered this summer knowing exactly what needed to improve. The squad needed more quality, more physicality, more depth and, above all, more players capable of performing at European level.

Instead, we went into the biggest tie of the season with glaring weaknesses and watched a 4-0 aggregate lead disappear against LASK. The defeat exposed a recruitment strategy which has failed to ever be successful. 

The Timing Was the Problem

This isn’t about saying every signing has been bad.

Camilo Durán looks exciting.

Kasper Høgh has shown what he can offer.

Mika Baur has potential.

Haissem Hassan adds another attacking option.

Oliver Sorensen as well as the other eventual Chelsea loanees and Sam Johnstone will add competition. Van Den Berg looks good if not unproven. 

Those players shouldn’t be blamed for Celtic’s failure.

The problem is that Celtic needed more.

Arne Engels was sold for a significant fee and yet his replacement wasn’t secured before the Champions League play-off. Celtic knew the midfield required strengthening, but the club gambled on getting through LASK before completing the work. 

We know how that gamble ended.

And now Celtic are desperately trying to fix the squad after the Champions League money has disappeared.

That’s backwards.

Now We’re Scrambling

Gvidas Gineitis has suddenly become a major priority.

Joel van den Berg is reportedly coming in.

Oliver Sørensen is expected on loan.

There are still discussions around full-backs and other positions.

There is even talk of Celtic potentially making a late approach for another centre-back.

Celtic are now being linked with a potential flurry of deals, with reports suggesting as many as eight players could arrive before the window closes. 

That sounds exciting.

But Why Are We In This Position? Don’t Let Late Signings Rewrite the Story

If Gineitis signs for around £9 million, brilliant.

If Van den Berg arrives, excellent.

If Celtic add another full-back and goalkeeper, fantastic.

I will celebrate every good signing.

But that doesn’t suddenly make the transfer window a success.

It simply means Celtic have finally started addressing problems that supporters could identify months ago.

The club had the money.

The club had the targets.

The club knew the Champions League play-off dates.

And yet we still arrived at LASK without the squad we needed.

That is a failure of planning.

The Board Have to Own This

This is where the frustration with Michael Nicholson and the Celtic board comes from.

It isn’t that supporters expect Celtic to sign 5 £10 Million players every summer.

It is that the club constantly talks about ambition while operating with an approach that feels anything but ambitious.

The Champions League was worth tens of millions.

Celtic gambled on qualifying before properly finishing the squad.

We lost.

Now the club has to rebuild the squad without that guaranteed revenue.

That isn’t being financially prudent.

That’s taking a gamble and losing.

And supporters are entitled to ask why the club keeps doing this.

The Europa League Can’t Become an Excuse

The biggest danger now is that Celtic use the Champions League failure to lower expectations.

“We’re in the Europa League.”

“We’ve still got a strong squad.”

“We’ve made some good signings.”

All true.

But none of it changes what happened.

Celtic should still be trying to build a team capable of competing in Europe.

And if Gineitis, Van den Berg and the other late additions arrive, they need to be part of that ambition rather than simply patching holes.

The Window Is Not Over – But It Has Been Poor

There is still time to change the story.

Gineitis could arrive.

More quality could follow.

Celtic could finish the window strongly.

And I hope they do.

But we shouldn’t allow a frantic final few days to erase everything that came before.

Celtic didn’t fail because LASK were better than us.

We failed because we put ourselves in a position where one bad night could expose an incomplete squad.

That’s the real lesson.

Don’t be fooled by the late transfer frenzy.

Don’t be fooled by a couple of exciting names.

And don’t be fooled into thinking the board suddenly got everything right.

Celtic have spent this entire summer trying to build the squad they should have had before LASK.