Former Celtic star 'very surprised' at Hoops' lack of transfer action while identifying problem position
The former Celtic, Hibs and Birmingham City man believes his old club need to start moving quicker in the January window.
As Celtic are yet to make a permanent transfer in the January window, an ex Hoops man believes they must act fast to acquire attacking reinforcements.
AFC Bournemouth’s Julian Araujo remains the only new addition as he was enlisted on loan by former boss, Wilfried Nancy. Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill has recalled Stephen Welsh from Motherwell, as the defender has had an impressive start to the season in Lanarkshire.
While Celtic have been linked with a plethora of names in attacking areas such as Jocelin Ta Bi and Callum Wilson, they are yet to make any forward additions. With the majority of the current crop of strikers out of form and lacking cutting edge, former Celtic midfielder, Scott Allan is ‘surprised’ that no business has been done yet in this area of the pitch.
Allan left perplexed at Celtic’s transfer inactivity
Speaking on BBC Sportsound’s Scottish Football Podcast, Allan said: “now we’re two weeks into January and no players come in to bolster the squad. But it's not all about bolstering the squad, it’s also about players coming into the starting XI and making the starting XI better. I think that's what all the fans are expecting.
“At the same time, Martin O'Neill's speech yesterday said he has had players been put to him that he thinks maybe aren't the right fit for Celtic. Paul Tisdale, rightly so, was questioned about recruitment. But at the same time, recruitment for Celtic isn't easy, to get the right players to come in and hit the ground running.
“So, maybe you would expect Celtic in the next week or two to have some players in. But at the same time, it's really surprising that they haven't at least got a striker in. I think that was the main talking point. If we go back to last January, Kyogo had been spoken about. I don't quite know what happened there.”
Recalling ‘outstanding’ Welsh a smart call
Despite voicing his frustrations on Celtic’s transfer inactivity, The East Kilbride Coach went onto praise the decision to recall Stephen Welsh, who has been an ever-present in a Motherwell side that have the joint-best defensive record in the Scottish Premiership.
He continued: “for me, he's been outstanding for Motherwell in the games I've watched. I think the player Celtic have got back is a much better player than he was when he left and that's in such a short space of time. That's purely down to Jens Berthel Askou and the system he's playing.
“So, for me, whether he starts or not, when he does come in, he's a much more composed player. In the loan deal, in terms of minutes, he's been fantastic. Ultimately, he's a Celtic player. If they think they need him for the bench, he is their player.”