Celtic mainstay told his place in starting XI is at risk as Parkhead transfer 'revelation' lauded

As former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan reflected on their summer transfer window, he claimed goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo’s position in the team could be at risk and that forward ‘revelation’ Camilo Duran has been the pick of the bunch so far.

Six of Celtic’s 10 summer signings were made in the last few days of the window, including the loan addition of Wolves stopper Sam Johnstone. The former West Brom and Crystal Palace stopper will now provide competition for places between the sticks for Sinisalo, who has rarely put a foot wrong in a Celtic jersey since taking over from the retired Kasper Schmeichel.

Of the earlier additions, Duran has seamlessly hit the ground running in a Hoops jersey with six goals in his first seven appearances. The £6m fee from Azerbaijan side Qarabag as this point looks to be a bargain, as Allan believes he’s a really ‘smart’ buy.

Allan on competition between the sticks for Celtic

The former midfielder - who spent four years at Parkhead as a player - believes goalkeeper is one of the areas manager Martin O’Neill will now have a few calls to make on. He also scrutinised their defensive reinforcement as an injury to right back mainstay Alistair Johnston has left the light in this area.

Speaking on BBC Sounds Scottish Football Podcast, the former Celt said: “Questions have been asked of Celtic - especially defensively after losing Alistair Johnston. They are positions where the Celtic fans have had frustrations. Then you’ve got a goalkeeper coming in with Sam Johnstone. Is he going to challenge (Viljami) Sinisalo for the number one spot? Probably, you’d imagine so, therefore Martin O’Neill will have a lot of decisions to make.”

Having made four caps for England as well as been a Premier League regular for the likes of West Brom and Palace, Johnstone joins the club with a reputation - and Wolves won’t expect their acrobatic stopper to sit on the bench in Glasgow. However, with four clean sheets in his first eight, Sinisalo won’t be muscled out of the starting lineup easily.

More to come from ‘revelation’ Duran

Allan continued: “At Celtic, there’s a lot of players in the door. Some of them look like really smart signings - none more so than Camilo Duran - who they got over the line early in the window. He’s been a revelation so far. He really has hit the ground running and with him, I really think there’s a lot more to come.”

The Colombian marksman has showcased his wand of a left foot on multiple occasions already in a green and white jersey - and his goals have been a mixed bag of speculative long-range efforts and strikers finishes. Due to the recent injury of fellow new marksman Kasper Hogh, Duran has been deployed through the middle of late, where he has looked even more effective than he was playing off the right.

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