Celtic’s centre-back situation is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing storylines of the summer transfer window. With Cameron Carter-Vickers firmly established as first choice under Brendan Rodgers, the real question lies in who will partner him next season.
Liam Scales ended last season as the preferred option alongside the American, despite the club shelling out £6 million last summer for Auston Trusty, who has struggled for regular minutes.
Maik Nawrocki, signed with high expectations, could be on his way out on loan with interest emerging from his homeland. Gustaf Lagerbielke, another defender on the fringe, is also expected to move on.
Stephen Welsh is coming off a strong loan spell at KV Mechelen, and his performances have not gone unnoticed, with clubs keeping tabs on the Scottish centre-half. The sheer number of options has left Celtic needing to shift players before any new additions are made at the back.
Burns believes Celtic won’t move for a new centre-back until they shift some of the current options. The club are thought to be in talks with Japanese defender Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata, but any deal is likely to depend on players leaving first. With a number of defenders already on decent wages, space and budget will need to be freed up before anyone else is brought in.
Burns also raised doubts over Auston Trusty’s future. Despite costing Celtic £6 million, he fell out of favour under Brendan Rodgers and rarely featured towards the end of the season. It’s unclear if he’ll accept a place on the bench going forward.
He said: (RecordSport), “I think that’s dependent on players going out. I think there’s Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh. You’ve still got a few there.
“When you put the wages together, they’re still quite heavy. So if you get rid of two or three of them, then you could probably look to bring in one decent quality centre-half.
“The other one might be as well that Trusty will he remain at Celtic Park. He fell out of the picture there at the end of the season. Celtic paid a lot of money for Auston Trusty and he hasn’t been getting a game. I don’t think he’ll be happy to sit on the bench.”
Celtic’s current position shows how tricky squad management can be, there are too many centre-backs on the books, and several of them haven’t played much. The club now has to decide whether to move some of them on or give them another chance under Rodgers.
The interest in Hayato Inamura shows Celtic are looking to strengthen, but they’ll need to clear space before anything happens. The J-League has been a reliable market for Celtic in recent years, and Inamura fits the profile of players who’ve settled quickly at the club.
Auston Trusty is a particular headache. Signed for big money just last summer, he barely featured as the season wore on. He’ll either need to break back into the team or go elsewhere to get regular football. What happens with him could set the tone for the rest of Celtic’s defensive business.
For now, supporters shouldn’t expect a quick move in that area. Celtic will need to move players out first before they can bring anyone in at the back.
