Grading Celtic's busy summer transfer window as top signings made but key areas botched
Celtic's transfer window ended with a bang, with as many as six new signings arriving to strengthen Martin O'Neill's squad, and more importantly, adding depth.
The Bhoys had a sluggish start to the window, going almost a couple of months without making a new signing from the end of the season, and then came four between Camilo Duran and Mika Baur, and by the time all was said and done, there were nine signings in through the doors at Paradise.
That led to understandable excitement among supporters, but it's still fair to say many were left unimpressed by the overall recruitment effort.
That's due to the timing of it more than anything else. Fans wanted to see Celtic go into this window prepared, especially with Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda always likely to leave. Failure to get enough business done early on likely cost the Bhoys a place in the Champions League.
What makes that more confusing is that Celtic took an approach of wanting to maximise their return for money, careful not to pay more than the value they had in mind for players.
That approach almost cost them Baur, and it did cost them the signing of Gvidas Gineitis, at least for now. But had they paid a little extra at the right times, they quite likely would have qualified for the Champions League, which was worth tens of millions.
There would have been an element of a gamble, but a reasonable one, given they were well-placed to beat LASK. The lack of a gamble is difficult to understand, and it has cost Celtic signings and a lot of money.
So, that has to be kept in mind when it comes to grading this window.
On the positive side, Celtic made some fine signings. Duran looks to be a hit. Kasper Hogh needs to work on his finishing but looks strong, while Baur has a really good mindset of always wanting to be on the ball, and Haissem Hassan looks to be a dangerous winger.
Sam Johnstone is a strong goalkeeper to have as competition for Viljami Sinisalo, too.
As for the others, we don't really know. Shim Mheuka is a risk-free gamble, and not just because he is on loan. Celtic have Hogh, Duran can do an excellent job there, even if he will more often play out wide, and Callum Osmand will be back in a few weeks. It's a bonus to have another striker available.
The same applies for the signing of Jordan Latomba. Celtic have Colby Donovan and Anthony Ralston, and Alistair Johnston will return as the starter when he comes back in October. Latomba adds some European experience, but it's unlikely to matter if he doesn't pan out.
Elsewhere, it's tough to judge, given the likes of Joel ven den Berg, Oliver Sorensen and Landon Emenalo are pretty unknown, with no disrespect to those players.
The problem there is that Celtic still don't have a senior option as a back-up for Kieran Tierney, who will have to sit out a fair amount of games between the league and Europe. It's putting a lot of eggs in the basket of an 18-year-old, unless O'Neill plans to use Liam Scales regularly on the left, which is a concern in itself. Scales defends well but cannot get up and down, which is how Celtic usually play.
And in midfield, Celtic looked really short against a decent European side. That issue is going to be greater exposed against better sides in Europe, like Benfica and Marseille, and I'm not convinced Van den Berg and Sorensen properly address that problem. The Bhoys needed a dominant holding midfielder who can also carry the ball through midfield.
Time will tell whether one of those younger players can deliver more than expected, but by failing to get Gineitis, I feel as though Celtic remain short in the midfield, not so much in the league, but absolutely in Europe.
Celtic's summer transfer window grade - C. Plenty of signings, a handful of good signings but not enough attention paid to to vital positions, specifically midfield and left-back.
