With only hours left in the summer transfer window, journalist Stephen McGowan has given an honest assessment of Celtic’s business.
McGowan questioned the club’s planning, calling the transfer work “bewildering and baffling.”
Celtic have brought in Michel-Ange Balikwisha for the attack, but key positions remain unfilled. A new striker and right winger were viewed as priorities from the start of the window, yet neither has been secured as deadline day arrives.
This slow progress comes after a damaging Champions League exit and a loss to Rangers, piling more pressure on Brendan Rodgers and his squad. McGowan says it is not just about who Celtic have failed to sign, but also the timing and reasoning behind their moves.
Despite having huge cash reserves and Champions League income already added from last season, fans share his frustration at the lack of bold investment when it was most needed. McGowan believes even if late deals are struck, the feeling of a missed chance will remain.
He said: (Scottish Football Podcast), “People knew Celtic needed a centre forward. They knew they needed a right winger, they knew they needed a left winger. They’ve got Balakwisha in, but it’s been a fairly indifferent start.
“They’ve still not got a right winger, they’ve still not got a striker, and maybe they’ll land one tomorrow. But too little, too late will be the cry, because they’re out of the Champions League, £20 million has gone down the drain, and they’ve failed to beat their biggest rivals for the first time in a year. So, you know, I don’t really know where the strategy has been.
“It’s been absolutely bewildering and baffling. Even if they do fix it tomorrow with a couple of marquee signings, there’ll still be that sense of what might have been for Celtic. Absolutely. The fans are understandably baffled and angry. They’ve got something like £70–80 million in the bank at last count.
“It was £65 million the last time. Since then, they’ve added Champions League money, fees for Nicholas Kühn, and sales the recruitment team managed to pull off. So it’s incomprehensible, other than this idea they have that the best deals come on the final days of the window.
“But look at the mess they’re making right now. Signing Kasper Dolberg, even if it happens, will probably mean overpaying — the same way they did for Adam Idah, the same way they did for Arne Engels and Auston Trusty last year. Fans are entitled to ask questions. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll get answers.”
McGowan’s comments reflect a wider feeling among supporters that Celtic have failed to capitalise on a position of strength. European elimination has already cost the club tens of millions, and dropping points domestically could prove even more damaging in the title race.
While the prospect of late signings remains on the table, the sense of frustration lingers. McGowan highlights that even if reinforcements arrive, the opportunity to enter the Champions League has already slipped away.
The focus now shifts to whether Celtic can salvage the situation before the deadline. A big-name striker or winger could change the mood, but as McGowan suggests, fans may continue to question the club’s long-term planning regardless of what happens on deadline day.
With the clock ticking, the pressure is firmly on the Celtic hierarchy to act, and to explain how a summer that began with promise has unravelled so quickly.
