Ex-Celtic player Charlie Nicholas believes the Hoops must sign a goalkeeper and two centre-backs in order to give Ange Postecoglou a fighting chance of succeeding in his new job.

The former Sky Sports pundit is adamant that Vasilis Barkas is not good enough to be the club’s number one, while he feels the squad is also very light on defenders:

“Celtic need to spend their money on the backbone of the team. That means at least one centre back, probably two and a goalkeeper. They definitely need a new No1 because I am not convinced that Vasilis Barkas will be able to hold that jersey down.”

“They need someone they can rely on and they haven’t had that since Fraser Forster went back to Southampton.”Ange Postecoglou also needs to add to his central defensive options. Those three signings are key to the rebuild.”

It is a pretty fair summary from Nicholas. The team was not defensively solid enough last season, and if they are to improve this campaign, Celtic need reinforcements in that area.

With the Champion League qualifiers fast approaching, though, it doesn’t seem like the club have left themselves enough time to get the necessary deals across the line.

Reports suggest that the Scottish club are keen on Hajduk Split’s Mario Vuskovic and Bologna’s Aaron Hickey but those transfers are not thought to be nearing completion. Whether some players will arrive before the first leg against FC Midtjylland on July 20th, we shall have to wait and see.