It was a busy month for Brendan Rodgers as Celtic’s January transfer window saw the club add five new players to their ranks. Two players departed on loan and one left on a permanent deal away from Glasgow.
Celtic’s January Transfer Window
The Ins
Marvin Compper
Compper became the club’s first signing of the window before December had even passed. The 32-year-old defender was quickly brought in from RB Leipzig to add some experience to the Celtic backline. Rodgers was clearly a fan of the former Fiorentina centre-back who was signed for a reasonably low fee of £1 million.
Unfortunately for the German, he picked up a calf injury which delayed his first Hoops appearance by a month. Whilst he is still to make his debut, this signing could be seen as a smart move by Celtic as they got a very experienced player for a little amount of cash. He will likely step in and be a calming and strong influence on the defence which has looked shaky at points this season. However, the signs of injury already could be worrying for the manager.
Lewis Morgan
The young winger became Celtic’s second January recruit from Scottish Championship leaders St. Mirren. The 21-year-old immediately returned to the Saints for the remainder of the season to continue some valuable playing time.
The young Scottish attacker has impressed in the lower league and has great potential to succeed at Celtic. It remains to be seen what playing time Rodgers will give the youngster next season. He will face great competition on the Celtic flanks and will need game time to keep developing his talent.
Charly Musonda
Without doubt, the signing that excited the most Celtic fans was the capture of Charly Musonda. The young star joined Celtic on an 18-month loan from Chelsea and can play on either wing or operate behind a main striker.
This will be a massive coup for the Scottish Champions, adding some real flair to their attacking options. He could be a vital player when Celtic are competing in European games and has certainly added quality to the squad.
The 21-year-old has already showed the Celtic support what his game is all about with some fancy flicks on his debut. Whilst he has just arrived, he will need a few games to adapt to life in Scotland but will develop well under Rodgers.
Jack Hendry
The 22-year-old defender joined for around £1.2 million from Premiership rivals Dundee on deadline day. The deal was completed very late on but allowed Celtic to add more defensive backup.
Hendry has already made his first start for Rodgers’ side and may be given more opportunities due to Celtic’s injury problems at the back. If he is indeed given the right playing time, Hendry certainly has the potential to become a top class centre-back and a good signing for Celtic.
Despite this, some fans may feel Celtic have not brought in as much quality in central defence as they could have done. With around just two million spent on both defensive signings, will they provide the best cover for Celtic to improve, especially when tested against European opposition?
Scott Bain
Goalkeeper Scott Bain was also signed very late on during the last day of the window. Bain was brought in on a six-month loan, also from Dundee. Bain was a forced signing for Celtic after their No.1 ‘keeper Craig Gordon was ruled out for three months.
The Scot will likely play second fiddle to Dorus de Vries who will step in between the sticks.
The Outs
Liam Henderson
The midfielder left Parkhead in January and became one of the the few Scots to play their football abroad. Henderson completed a permanent move to Serie B outfit Bari after an impressive trial.
After some sporadic appearances last season, the 21-year-old hadn’t featured at all this campaign and must be applauded for making a brave move to Italy in order to secure regular football.
Erik Sviatchenko
The Danish defender left Celtic for former club FC Midtjylland on loan until the end of the season and could sign permanently in the summer. The 26-year-old last played for Celtic way back in July against Rosenborg. In this game, he picked up a nasty knee injury that kept him out for several months.
Since his return to fitness, Sviatchenko struggled to re-gain a place in the team despite a decent run of performances last season.
This move may have been a surprising one for the fans and they will be sad to see him go.
As Celtic have lost a number of defenders to injury this month, the decision to let him leave may come back to haunt them.
Nadir Ciftci
Finally, Celtic’s forgotten striker Nadir Ciftci sealed a loan move away from the club, ending his nightmare spell. The Turk has joined fellow Premiership side Motherwell on loan until the end of the season. With previous loan spells in Turkey and at Plymouth, Ciftci’s career has taken a real hit with a severe lack of goals and game time.
With him unlikely to feature again for Celtic, a move to Motherwell is a wise one as he hopes to return to the form that attracted Celtic to sign him in 2015.
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