Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Celtic already have enough quality in their squad to win the Scottish Premiership this year and they already find themselves eight points clear at the top of the table. If you're into football betting, you'll have seen that sites like BetVictor have Celtic as the favourites to win the league with odds of 1/100 - so things are looking hopeful for the club this season. However, they've also been handed a few beatings by some of the bigger clubs around Europe, and that's something they'd like to change to compete on the bigger stage next year. We don't like to just throw up any old rumours in terms of players they could sign to improve their squad, but we do have a list of players who Celtic would be interested in signing/loaning in the summer to give them more firepower next season.
Ethan isn't a well-known player in English football as of yet, but a few good midfield appearances for Sunderland this season has seen him linked with moves to Scottish football. The 22-year-old from England only made his debut this season in the Championship for Sunderland and he was only an academy player before that. His knowledge and experiences in the game have quickly pushed him to the top of the pecking list on the Sunderland roster, and he's now a target of both Celtic and their fierce rivals Rangers. Will he choose to opt for a move to Celtic, where he's almost guaranteed to win a Premiership medal? Or will he choose to go with Rangers, as they've shown a bit more ambition in the transfer market? He's wanted to play for Sunderland for more than 13 years, so Celtic and Rangers would both need to come up with the goods to prize him away. However, if he wants to play at the top of the game, he might need to leave Sunderland this year, as they don't look like they'll be progressing back to the Premier League stage anytime soon.
Danny Welbeck has had a tough time since his move away to Arsenal from Manchester United. He's been injured on several occasions and he hasn't quite hit the ground running when he's been playing. He's only played 17 Premier League games for Arsenal in the 17/18 campaign and we all know he's itching to get back to playing first team football on a regular basis. Celtic could match his wage demands and they could offer him a starting position in their current squad. Wenger looks like he wants to offload him in the summer and a different league for the England international could be just what he needs to revitalise his domestic and international career. He won't get back into the England setup as of now because he doesn't get a lot of game time, so a move to Scotland might be a wise idea if his ambitions are to get back to playing at the top internationally.
Daniel Sturridge is another player who has struggled to play consecutive games this year for his club Liverpool due to injuries. He's firmly fallen down the pecking order in the starting line-up in recent times and he's currently looking for a way out. Celtic could match his current market value of £18 million (although that would likely be a lot less given his recent form) and they could offer him a suitable wage packet that will almost certainly get him scoring again. Daniel would prefer to stay in the Premier League for obvious reasons, but if he's looking for a better chance on a regular basis, he might have to make several sacrifices. Will Celtic opt for a player of Daniel's calibre or will they look elsewhere in terms of their youth setup? He's got plenty of experience and knowledge of playing at the top level - and that is an attractive attribute that Celtic are after.
Dwight Gayle is firmly on the starting roster for Newcastle and that's for good reason, he was their top scorer in the Championship last season. Things haven't quite panned out for him this year, but that could be due to the fact Newcastle don't have enough quality to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Everton in the Premier League. Newcastle are also facing the drop this year if they don't get their hat together and Dwight Gayle looks like a player who's too good for the Championship. The striker could easily find a way out and that could be with a move to Scotland playing for Celtic. Celtic already have quality forwards in Dembele and Griffiths, but they wouldn't mind having a back up with the quality of Gayle's. Gayle is the type of player that gets better when he has better players around him, and he'll certainly get that experience at Celtic. Newcastle will do very well to keep him this summer if Celtic come knocking.
Tammy is a player owner by Chelsea and is currently getting experience with Swansea. Chelsea don't feel he's ready to fit in yet and they could look at loaning him out to some bigger guns in the summer. The benefit of such a loan deal would be that Celtic would only have to pay a small percentage of his wages and they wouldn't have to pay any additional fees in terms of transfers. He would be a decent player who showed more than enough quality when playing for Bristol City in the Championship last season. Even if Celtic did manage to get him for a season or two, he could be the additional forward they need to flourish on a European level. Tammy could well go out on loan to another club in the Premier League or drop back down to the Championship once more, but Chelsea would probably look at giving him some better experience with a top club in Scotland, such as Celtic.
Aden is a defender who has shown he can not only keep teams at bay, but he can also score goals when being called up for a corner. He scored 15 goals for Bristol City in the 2014/2015 season and his defensive displays kept them in the Championship. He's having another excellent season and has already helped keep Manchester United at bay with a 2-1 win in the domestic cup. If Bristol City don't progress by the start of the summer, he might look elsewhere if he feels he's got more quality to give another side. Celtic aren't exactly struggling defensively, but he will certainly give them more chances against some of the world's elite next season. He could also be one of the bargain buys of the summer if such a deal ever came to fruition.
Celtic don't have the financial power to compete with Bayern Munich, Chelsea, or Manchester United, but the above players would certainly fit within their transfer budgets should they wish to pursue. Whether the above players can really give Celtic the firepower they need to compete on the European stage next year remains to be seen, but they do have the qualities to give them a much bigger advantage in the Scottish Premiership, and that could well lead to a much more successful European campaign.
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