Chris Sutton gives his assessment of what the two Glasgow giants need to achieve in the summer transfer window which is now open…
With the transfer window now open Chris Sutton used his weekend newspaper column in Daily Record to cast an eye over the transfer priorities for the big two in Glasgow and comes to the conclusion that both Brendan Rodgers and Philippe Clement have plenty of work to do in terms of shaping their squads for the season ahead.
Sutton said: “(the)Rangers need a total rebuild, so there are going to be a lot of comings and goings at Ibrox. There is less work required at Celtic, but that doesn’t mean they can hang about.
Lessons from last summer have to be learned
“The lessons from last summer have to be learned. They can’t afford to go into the European campaign looking as undercooked as they did last season. Rodgers managed to turn around a season of transition into one of trophy triumph, but they don’t want to be making life difficult for themselves again.
Celtic can’t muck about
Ideally, Rodgers will have some of his big targets in the building for the start of pre-season, rather than waiting until the end of the window. I get that it’s not always so straightforward. You sometimes have to wait for the ones you want because they are in demand. But Celtic can’t muck about either and with money in the bank, supporters aren’t likely to be patient.”
Sutton insists that finding a suitable replacement for Joe Hart must be the top priority for the Scottish Champions and he wants to see a signing who has significant experience which the former Celtic striker reckons is need to play between the posts for his old club.
Can’t afford to hang about
“Celtic need a keeper who can produce the goods when called into action and then pull out the stops when it matters in the Champions League – where he will be busy.
“There is time to get the recruitment up and running, but they also can’t afford to hang about. Rangers have already got the ball rolling with new signings checking in, but I don’t think Celtic should panic too much about what’s happening across the city,” Sutton said.
Incidentally Hugh Keevins (yes, we know) this morning in his newspaper column claims that Celtic have a few signings already agreed that are awaiting announcements, but he has no idea who these signings are while speculating on a list of Ibrox signings.
