Three Players Celtic Could Sign In January As Cover For World Cup Absentees
Celtic are once again dominating the domestic competitions, as has become the norm in the Scottish football scenes. The Bhoys sit comfortably on top of the Scottish Premiership table with 33 points after 13 games, 6 points clear of closest challengers Aberdeen. They have also made it to the finals of the Scottish League Cup, where they will face off against Motherwell this coming weekend.
Their UEFA Champions League campaign though is about to come to an end at the group stages. However, a tilt in the UEFA Europa League looks very much on the horizon for the club, if they manage to finish third in their group.
Amidst all this, manager Brendan Rodgers has already cast an eye on the future, and has revealed that he will be looking to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window in order to cover for the players who will be participating in the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia next summer.
Tom Rogic (Australia), Cristian Gamboa (Costa Rica) and Mikael Lustig (Sweden) are definitely going to be on the plane for the mega event in Russia while a fit Erik Sviatchenko is also expected to make the Denmark squad, meaning, Celtic could be without as many as four important players heading into their UEFA Champions League qualification stages for next season. Speaking of the situation, Rodgers said:
“It’s the way it is. We have to prepare for that in the next window to ensure we’re covered.
“We have been short in certain areas over the last two summers, so January is a big window for us if we feel we need to do something.”
With the manager very much confirming the club’s splurge in the upcoming transfer window, here are three players that we could see at the Celtic Park by January.
Liam Moore (Reading)
The 24-year-old centre-back has been linked with a move to the Hoops of late and despite Reading FC manager Jaap Stam insisting that the player will not be sold, a move to Scotland looks very much possible for Liam Moore.
The former England youth international has featured 18 times in all competitions this term for the Royals, scoring 2 and assisting 2 goals. A ball-playing defender with good distribution skills, the former Leicester City man fits the requirements of Rodgers and has shown plenty of positive signs in his spell at the Madejski Stadium.
With Reading struggling at 19th position in the Championship, a move to Celtic, where he will be challenging for titles and competing in Europe could heavily appeal to Moore.
Andy Yiadom (Barnsley)
The 25-year old right-back has been long linked with a move away from Barnsley and came close to moving to a Premier League club in the summer, only for the transfer to hit a late snag. However, with his contract set to expire next summer, a move away from the Tykes in January is very much possible and Celtic should look to capitalise on the opportunity.
Yiadom might have played just 6 games this term for the Championship side, but he was one of the best right-backs in the competition last season. Plenty of pace, good stamina levels and strong defensive nous to go along with, the one-time capped Ghana international can be an asset to any side he may join.
With both Lustig and Gamboa set to be involved in Russia, Celtic would be left with only Anthony Ralston as the recognised right-back, making it more sensible for them to make a move for Yiadom.
Louis Moult (Motherwell)
The 25-year old is a bit of a wanted man and it is not hard to see why, given his prolific goal-scoring form, combined with the fact that his contract with the Steelmen would be up in the summer.
Having moved to the Fir Park from Wrexham AFC in 2015, Moult has already netted 50 goals in 85 appearances for Motherwell. In the ongoing season, the Englishman has managed a highly-impressive tally of 14 goals and 3 assists in 19 games across all competitions and has proven himself to be one of the finest marksmen in the Scottish footballing scenes.
Given Moussa Dembele’s recurring injury problems, and also taking into consideration the outside chance of him being called up for the France national team in the summer, having someone like Moult, who has shown he is capable of scoring week in week out at this level, someone who has the penchant for the big games, in the ranks will be a great proposition for Celtic.