Additional deadline means Celtic must conclude transfer business before rivals

Celtic have even less time than they thought to get business done. The Bhoys are in desperate need of signings, as was proven by their Champions League collapse against LASK, giving up a four-goal lead.

The blame game is still being played among Celtic fans and others, but what we know is that the Bhoys are out of the Champions League, and they now need to start planning for life in the Europa League.

As part of that, the board are, at some point, going to have to bite the bullet and continue adding to this squad, which clearly has deficiencies. A midfielder or two is going to be needed, while a new left-back and a goalkeeper is also required to ensure there is sufficient depth.

Celtic have a new deadline problem

Celtic were already going to face issues with the Scottish transfer deadline, which is on September 3. Why? The majority of leagues around Europe close their windows on September 1, and after that point, aside from players who are surplus to requirements, most clubs are not going to be selling players they cannot replace.

That already meant the Bhoys would likely have to do business before the deadline, but it has been pointed out that there an additional deadline to worry about, which is the UEFA squad registration deadline.

Clubs competing in UEFA competitions, which Celtic are, must submit their squads for the league phases of their respective competitions by 11pm on Wednesday, which comes before the Scottish deadline, at 5pm on Thursday.

That means any Celtic signings done after the UEFA deadline and before the Scottish deadline, would not be eligible to play in the Europa League until the league phase has concluded and the squads can be resubmitted ahead of the knockout phase, should the Bhoys get there.

Celtic's business now looks as though it will be adapted after their Champions League exit, with Martin O'Neill having said as much, but business still needs to be done, and ideally, before Wednesday night.

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