Celtic are struggling to compete with English Championship clubs in the transfer market and deal with agents, according to minutes of meetings between board members and supporters.
Celtic have signed just one new player this summer – Colombian striker Camilo Duran. He is the first proven forward signed since leading scorer Kyōgo Furuhashi left for Rennes 18 months ago.
The club’s ongoing difficulties in recruiting players caused major tensions with former manager Brendan Rodgers and caused division among fans last season.
Chairman Brian Wilson, Chief Executive Officer Michael Nicholson and Manager Martin O’Neill recently attended the Irish Celtic Supporters’ Club Association Annual General Meeting in Cork and had a brief Q&A session with supporters.
Minutes of the meeting were released online and reveal that O’Neill told the Celtic board there was a “desperate need for a move” because his side were not strong enough to compete despite the “heroes” of winning two titles last season.
Martin O’Neill, 74, has signed a new one-year contract as Celtic manager for the new season.
Club representatives asked why the club was “so slow” in signing players.
The minutes state that Nicholson “advised them on the difficulties of competing against agent opponents, in the Premier League and even in the Championship”.
He added that work is underway to sign players whose contracts expire at the July 4 meeting.
Camilo Duran has joined Celtic from Qarabag for a fee of £6m.
Celtic have re-signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after a short-term contract last season, but there is no sign of an extension for Kelechi Iheanacho, whose goals off the bench were crucial in the second half of the season.
O’Neill made it clear that the focus was on finding young players who could be developed due to difficulties attracting experienced players to Glasgow due to the financial gap with the Premier League.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will return to Celtic next season after signing a new contract.
The minutes state that O’Neill suggested young players would come to Celtic for the opportunity to play in European football and have drive and ambition before focusing on wages.
The document added that the board recently signed off on a long-term strategy. Nicholson described the goal as becoming a top club in Scotland, financially sound and competing in Europe.
Celtic hosts Middlesbrough played a pre-season friendly on Saturday, with several supporters groups calling for a boycott of the match by fans demanding changes from the board.
Sutton: Celtic need to spend £50m
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Chris Sutton admits ‘a lot of change’ is needed at Celtic and provides an estimate of how much the summer transfer window could cost the club.
Chris Sutton believes Celtic may need to spend more than £50m on overhauling their squad this summer if they are to retain their Premiership title and qualify for the Champions League.
“Martin was incredible last season and I haven’t seen Celtic win more than a few titles in his position,” he said. Sky Sports News.
“I mean, the run to the end of the season has been special, but I don’t think there’s any getting away from the fact that a lot of changes still need to be made in terms of recruitment at Celtic.
“We have a really important Champions League qualifier and no matter how exciting it was for Celtic fans to get over the finish line last season, there is no getting away from the fact that Celtic have struggled at times throughout the season, so I’m sure Martin will be looking to bring players in.
“It will be interesting to see who goes out at Celtic. Leo Hatate looks set to leave and maybe Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and others are big players in the team. So who will Celtic replace those types of players? I think Celtic may actually need to spend upwards of £50m because they need to rebuild their squad.”
Celtic begin title defense against Dundee
Celtic begin the defense of their Scottish Premiership title at home to Dundee on August 3. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Monday night’s clash, which kicks off at 7.30pm, caps off a landmark opening weekend that saw all six top-flight games broadcast live on Sky Sports for the first time.
Click here to see all of Celtic’s Premiership matches, including the date of the first Old Firm clash of the season.
