The window is wide open… and Celtic need serious investment in serious players for the new season

There is at least one question about Celtic’s upcoming campaign that we already know the answer to.

The long-standing debate over whether the team has what it takes to play in Europe after Christmas is now redundant due to UEFA’s revamp of the Champions League.

With a new format in which each team plays eight games, two of which are in January, Celtic’s involvement beyond the festive season is assured. What happens next will mirror the club’s transfer deals this summer.

While it is a difficult task to finish in the top eight of the 36-team group (and thus miss the knockout stages), the Scottish champions can reasonably be expected to maintain interest by finishing ninth to twenty-fourth.

Regardless of the fact that the latter stages of the tournament have become increasingly inaccessible territory for all but Europe’s elite in recent times, Celtic’s inability to make a deep run in any continental competition for two decades has been a source of considerable concern among fans.

You have to go back to 2004, to the famous two-legged UEFA Cup triumph over Barcelona, ​​to find the last time a Parkhead club won a European cup match after Christmas.

In the meantime, they reveled in domestic success – winning 16 titles out of 21 – and had some famous nights in qualifying and the group stage. But business-wise they seriously punched below their weight.

While Brendan Rodgers’ main task upon his return to the club has been to ensure the club remains in Scotland’s top flight, the ambition of all concerned – probably – is to do something serious in Europe again. This will require serious investment for some serious players. In other words, a sudden departure from the way the club ran its business last year.

They can’t just keep firing off a volley of shots and hope some hit the target. They have to pick their targets and choose quality over quantity.

Complaining about excessive wages in the bigger leagues making it difficult to cross the line will no longer be false. No one in their right mind expects them to win the Champions League, but they need to give themselves a chance to compete.

Celtic signed nine players last summer. Of the seven permanent transfers, Kwon Hyeok-kyu for £1 million was the cheapest, and the most expensive was £4.3 million paid to Legia Warszawa for Maik Nawrocki.

Meanwhile, you had players like Odin Thiago Holm for £2.5 million, Marco Tilio for £1.5 million and Yang Hyun-jun for £2.1 million.

Celtic will point to the £1.5m spent on Matt O’Riley as evidence that top talent is still undervalued, and that’s true.

But cases like O’Riley’s – Southampton’s current £20m-plus target – are the exception rather than the rule.

There’s nothing wrong with rummaging through the bargain bin occasionally. But you usually have to look elsewhere for players with a pedigree.

Celtic already knew what they were getting when they spent £6m to extend Jota’s contract with Benfica.

Cameron Carter-Vickers also arrived from Spurs, who needed to impress for Celtic to make the player their own. Another £6 million was a cut.

While that price range is no guarantee that a player will succeed, it is clear that they are far less likely to fail than players priced at a third of that amount.

Indeed, this is what Rodgers had in mind when he implored the club to be “bolder” in the transfer market.

Signing a replacement for Joe Hart is non-negotiable. It seems like not a day goes by without another goalkeeper – be it Caoimhin Kelleher, Martin Dubravka or Dominik Livakovic.

No one will need to be reminded how wrong they were when Vasilis Barkas arrived four years ago. The signing of Hart has shown that not every good deal comes with a sell-on fee.

As for defenders, injury hampered Nawrocki’s first season in Glasgow. Time will tell whether the Pole enjoys Rodgers’ trust.

The manager is certainly an admirer of Liam Scales and after his breakthrough season he gave the player a contract until 2028.

However, it is likely that he will still want to sign another left winger to play alongside Carter-Vickers.

With Alexandro Bernabei on loan at Brazilian club Internacional until the end of the year, Rodgers will need another left-back to cover and challenge Greg Taylor.

With Holm and Kwon out of the picture, an extra defender would be at the top of the list to help relieve Callum McGregor.

A permanent deal for Paulo Bernardo would be relatively risk-free. With O’Riley likely to be sold for big money, the Benfica midfielder would have more opportunities in a support role alongside Reo Hatate.

Rodgers also needs significant improvements on the wings. It says a lot about Yang and Tilio’s influence that James Forrest was asked to save him last semester.

Luis Palma is still too unpredictable. Nicolas Kuhn hasn’t shown enough. The same goes for Mikey Johnston, who has returned to City after a decent loan spell at West Brom.

Talks about Kyogo Furuhashi’s return to Japan have died down. Adam Idah turned perceptions upside down, scoring a number of season-defining goals among the nine he managed to score after his loan from Norwich.

The Canaries will have to fork out a tidy sum to land the Irishman, but Celtic, who have £40m in Champions League money in their pocket, are not looking to go broke.

They have never been in such an enviable financial position. If they want to start a business and make a noticeable impact in Europe, they can do so. It would certainly be long overdue.