Well we knew that with the appointment of Steven Gerrard as Rangers boss that Celtic’s big rivals would be making serious changes at Ibrox and so it has proved.
Gerrard has landed 3 signings already in goalkeeper Allan McGregor from Hull City as he returns for his 2nd stint with Rangers, Canadian international midfielder Scott Arfield from Burnley and Jamie Murphy who has made his loan deal from Brighton and Hove Albion permanent ahead of the new season
Gerrard’s Rangers are reportedly close to landing Martin Skrtel from Fenerbahce thus reuniting the former Liverpool captain with a player he won the League Cup with at Liverpool plus they are also in the hunt for Premier League veteran hitman and former England and Spurs striker, Bournemouth’s Jermaine Defoe and want to sign 21-year-old Wales winger and top talent Harry Wilson on loan from Liverpool so things are clearly busy at Ibrox.
Celtic on the other hand have just completed their 2nd successive treble of the League title, the Betfred Cup and the Scottish FA Cup after their 2-0 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park last weekend and are looking very strong yet are seeking to add quality reinforcements to their squad.
Charly Musonda has been recalled by Chelsea after failing to get game time with the Hoops, mainly down to the impressive form of French strikers Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard.
As a result former Liverpool supremo and current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is attempting to sign Odsonne Edouard on a permanent deal from Paris-Saint Germain, which could reportedly cost the champions in the neighbourhood of £8million which sounds like some excellent business given the current transfer market fees.
Another possible Celtic move has materialised as James McClean has revealed he dreams of playing for Celtic since the possibility of him leaving West Brom after their relegation has increased.
The Republic of Ireland star featured in Scott Brown’s testimonial on Sunday and it appears he has issued a “come-and-get-me” plea to Brendan Rodgers as he had this to say in an interview with CelticTV when he responded to the question of if he fancied pulling on the famous hooped jersey:
“That’s always been the dream.
Unfortunately that’s not up to me. If it was up to me it would have happened a long time ago.
Who knows? Fingers crossed. Maybe one day.”
So it appears Celtic are not going to sit idly by as Steven Gerrard makes his transfer moves.
Brendan Rodgers seems to be being very proactive himself in the transfer market and will likely still be pretty confident his Celtic team are going to be able to handle an improved challenge from Rangers next season.