Celtic transfer state-of-play: What is left for Ange Postecoglou to solve? Fans thoughts on January business

The January transfer window closes in just 13 hours time for Celtic to complete more business.

With Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou eager to finalise the majority of his transfer activity at the start of the window, fans of the Parkhead club will be expecting a relatively quiet Deadline Day.

The Scottish champions had already signed defensive duo Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston prior to the window officially opening on January 1, while Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata and South Korean striker Oh Hyeon-gyu joined the club earlier this month.

The latter arrived from Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K-League for £2.5m after Postecoglou missed out on top striking target Cho Gue-sung after the World Cup star had fitness concerns and favoured a move elsewhere in Europe.

With just a matter of hours remaining to add the finishing touches to Postecoglou’s squad and also move on the players he doesn’t want, we analyse how the window has gone for Celtic.

Solved

Ange Postecoglou declared Celtic are always looking “one transfer window ahead” of other clubs and that appears to have been the case again this month, with the Australian quickly identifying areas of the squad he wanted to strengthen.

Yuki Kobayashi became the first arrival after the Japanese central defender agreed a five-year-deal from J-League side Vissel Kobe on November 23. The 22-year-old - capped at Under-20 level by his country - joined up with his new team-mates at the start of December but wasn’t eligible for selection until the beginning of January.

That period, however, allowed Kobayashi time to settle into his new surroundings and with the help of fellow compatriots Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi, he has adapted quickly to the Scottish game, impressing on his full debut in the 4-0 victory over St Mirren.

Perhaps the most impressive signing to date appears to be the shrewd acquisition of Canadian international right-back Alistair Johnston from MLS outfit CF. Montreal on a five-year contract. Describing his move to Glasgow’s East End as “a match made in heaven”, the 24-year-old has already endeared himself to the Parkhead faithful due to his aggressive nature, making his first start against Rangers in the Old Firm Derby at Ibrox on January 2.

Following the big-money departure of Croatian full-back Josip Juranovic to Bundesliga side Union Berlin, Johnston was viewed as an ideal replacement by Postecoglou after his impressive group stage showing for Canada at the World Cup last year.

Postecoglou then turned his attention to bolstering his midfield options and raided his former club in the process by bringing in Japanese Player of the Year Tomoki Iwata from Yokohama F. Marinos on an initial loan deal with a compulsory option to make the move permanenent on a long-term contract in the summer.

Iwata became the SIXTH J-League signing of the Postecoglou era since 2021 and the player’s versatility proved to be a huge draw for the Hoops boss, with the 25-year-old equally comfortable in defence as well.

Speculation around a January exit for Greek international Giorgos Giakoumakis led Postecoglou to begin his search for a new attacking option. It quickly became apparent that Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors frontman Cho Gue-sung was top of his wishlist but after a three-week long pursuit the player wanted to delay a move due to concerns over his fitness. Celtic had submitted a bid in the region of €3.3million, including a sizable sell-on fee in order to try and tempt him to Glasgow, but he is expected to remain in his homeland this term.

That prompted Celtic to focus on other transfer targets as a host of names were linked with the club, before Oh Hyeon-gyu emerged as the leading candidate to solve their shortage of strikers. Having netted 14 times in the K-League last season, the 21-year-old made it clear he wanted to test himself in Europe and would jump at the chance of joining Celtic.

Early evidence would suggest he looks a real physical presence up front and seems to have plenty of pace after making his debut as a late substitute in Sunday’s 2-0 Premiership win over Dundee United at Tannadice, despite being on the pitch for just 13 minutes.

Unsolved

At present, Celtic’s squad depth looks particularly impressive on paper. It’s difficult to highlight significant areas of weakness in the current squad and given they have opened a nine-point gap at the top of the table, it’s hard to fathom Ange Postecoglou’s men dropping many points between now and the end of the campaign.

Postecoglou has been on the ball once again, addressing the striking department which was a major priority. With Kyogo Furuhashi the only recognised out-and-out No.9, a back-up option was required as Giakoumakis closes in on a £4million switch to MLS club Atlanta United.

The Celtic manager could decided to trim the size of his squad down today, with Stephen Welsh reportedly linked with a loan exit amid interest from Sheffield Wednesday, while the likes of Oliver Abildgaard, Yosuke Ideguchi and James McCarthy have all struggled to force their way into Postecoglou’s plans.

Fans thoughts

Liam: “I can’t have many complaints, the season has been brilliant so far apart from the Champions League run. Domestically we’ve been excellent. In terms of the transfer activity and players we’ve brought in I’ve been happy enough. Kobayashi looks decent, he’s quite young and still has a lot of improvement to come.

“Johnston seems to have fitted in well since Juranovic left, which isn’t a huge blow in my opinion. I’m not convinced he wanted to be here, it looked to me like he wanted to be playing elsewhere. Johnston, however, looks like the type of player who’ll really play for the jersey. He was right up for it on his debut in the Old Firm and didn’t look out of place. The players we’re selling, Ange is finding good replacements for them based on what we’ve seen so far.

“I wasn’t too bothered about (Moritz) Jenz having his loan deal cut short. Him and Starfelt together were a bombscare and it’s clear Carter-Vickers is the best defender at the club. He holds the backline together well and can play with anybody alongside him.

“Personally, in Giakoumakis’ situation, I would have kept him until the end of the season at least but I can understand he wants to be playing regularly and Ange can’t promise him that game time with Kyogo having been in such good form. Giakoumakis has been a great impact sub for us but I think he’s spat the dummy out a wee bit. There were rumours he wanted a lot more money as part of a new contract but that obviously didn’t go down too well.

“I’m happy with how the squad is looking just now. We’re looking comfortable in the league and have been playing some good football. Any player Ange has brought in, you can’t really argue with them. The majority of them have all been good additions and it’s a trusted process at the moment. We could maybe do with another centre-back just as extra cover because you never know when injuries might occur.”

How is the squad shaping up?

GOALKEEPERS: Joe Hart, Benjamin Siegrist (injured), Scott Bain

RIGHT-BACKS: Alistair Johnston, Anthony Ralston (injured)

LEFT-BACKS: Greg Taylor, Alexandro Bernabei

CENTRE-BACKS: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt, Yuki Kobayashi, Stephen Welsh, Bosun Lawal

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS: Callum McGregor, Aaron Mooy, Tomoki Iwata, Oliver Abildgaard, Yosuke Ideguchi, James McCarthy

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley, David Turnbull

WINGERS: Liel Abada, James Forrest, Jota, Daizen Maeda, Sead Haksabanovic

FORWARDS: Kyogo Furuhashi, Oh Hyeon-gyu