Celtic have had the best window in years, not since Lennon rebuilt the team after the sale of McGeady have we seen so many new faces with so much promise come to Celtic, meanwhile across
Starting with Celtic we have seen movement in both directions, firstly we have brought players in and secondly we have sent some players out on loan.
Celtic Permanent transfer:
Celtic Loan in: Oliver Burke, Timo Weah, Jeremy Toljan
Celtic loan out: Lewis Morgan, Maryan Shved, Andrew Gutman, Manny Perez, Youssof
3 players were bought and loaned straight away with C
Weah and Burke have been a pleasure to watch over the last few weeks and look like they will both score a bag full of goals before returning to their parent clubs, they are fantastic additions to the squad and have picked up full points since we arrived.
Our loans out all look good for the club, the Americans will need game time, Shved has likely been bought on the pretense we loan him back anyway, Morgan needs game time as does Miller, Mulumbu going back to Kilmarnock will get him back into form for the last year of his contract.
Across the City, Sevco started with a splash bringing in Defoe and Davis on huge money, a combined 100,000 a week for players who are not guaranteed to start is an amazing gamble with their clubs finances as fragile as they are, they then signed Jordan Jones on a pre-contract which spectacularly cost them 3 points at Kilmarnock before doing some shopping at the death.
Sevco permanent: Jordan Jones, Andy Firth, Matt Polster, Glen Kamara
Sevco Loan in: Jermaine Defoe, Steven Davis
Sevco Loan out: Eduardo Herrera, Myles Beerman, Robby McCrorie, Andrew Dallas, Jamie Barjonas
In these names there is old Galactico Eduardo Herrera, he has been shoved out the door to Club Necaxa in Mexico, the same club that Carlos Pena was ‘playing’ for recently before returning for duty at the end of the year, this means that 100% of Pena’s wages are being met by the Newco.
The Rangers actually have an entire squad that Slippy sent away, these are the players currently on loan from the Ibrox club.
Joe Dodoo, Jason Holt, Ryan Hardie, Greg Docherty, Lee Hodson, Liam Burt, Jak Alnwick, Zak Rudden, Kyle Bradley
That makes 14 players they are picking up wages for plus the returned Pena whose wages now must be met by Rangers with no clubs willing to take him in any capacity.
In many ways the window was a failure for Ra Peepa inasmuch that the player who could influence the League the most won’t arrive til next year in Jordan Jones, the players they have brought in are old and not theirs, they cost money but pay no dividends.
That Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena are still on the books is incredible, they were both earning 26,000 quid a week, if Necaxa are picking up half of Herrera’s then that still leaves a 39,000 pound black hole in Sevco’s accounts every week!
The windows can be compared that Celtic have brought in real quality for the run in with Weah, Burke, Toljan and Bayo being statements of intent whilst signing promise at bargain prices for the future in Shved, Gutman and Perez. Furthermore we have trimmed the wages with a few loans and Allan will be on his way come Summer.
At Ibrox, they have brought in 2 players they don’t need, they have plenty of strikers and no need for Defoe, Ryan Jack gets it they tell me and is one of the steadier Neds in the midfield for Sevco, why Davis has been brought ‘back’ after fleeing the sinking Oldco I will never know.
Their cheapness with relation to Jones has already cost them dear, but
All in all the last day of the window was a belter for Celtic, there are no excuses, we should dispatch all comers with the squad we have.