The transfer requirements Celtic signings must meet as targets told two things non-negotiable at champions

Callum McGregor says new Celtic signings have to drive standards and up the performance levels at Parkhead.

The Premiership champions have signed goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and a possible successor in Viljami Sinisalo, but no outfield men have arrived yet. Paulo Bernardo is rumoured to be closing in on a move while Adam Idah is also on the agenda.

There’s also rumour mill talk of exits surrounding Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate. Captain McGregor says the club are trying hard to compete in the transfer market as they prepare for Champions League football again. He addressed O’Riley’s situation and what targets will need to do for fitting in with boss Brendan Rodgers’ men.

McGregor said: “I think the squad is good. We've got good quality, we've seen that over the last two or three years. There's a real good core. We just want to continue to build on that. We don't have the resources of some of the big guns but the club are trying their best to bring us quality, and that's what we want as players.

“We want to add to the squad as much as we can to drive up the performance, drive up standards in training because that's how you're successful. The players are feeling good, the squad's looking good and the pre-season games have been really slick, especially the way we've played in the last two games against so-called big teams.

“That gives us a lot of confidence but we know that once you get into the real stuff, the competitive edge kicks in and the pre-season stuff doesn't really matter at that point. I think what we've got is really strong but we can always add to that. We're no different, every club in the country will be trying to do the same, trying to find the right ones to progress the squad.

“Matt's developed into a top player so of course we want to keep him. We want to keep all the good ones if we can. That's up to the club and Matt as well but he seems focused at the minute and until that changes we want to keep him as a Celtic player.”

Callum McGregor was speaking at the William Hill SPFL Season 2024/25 launch. William Hill are the proud sponsors of all four SPFL league competitions.