Dithering Celtic beaten to striker’s signature by Belgium’s equivalent to St Johnstone

It’s no big secret that Celtic take forever and a day to get transfer deals completed and over the line…

For successive windows now, the club has dragged their feet to the point of exhaustion on multiple deals, allowing other clubs to nip in and seal the deal, or being downright mocked in public by their contemporaries.

With Martin O’Neill still awaiting confirmation of a backroom staff for next year and with Gavin Strachan formally leaving today to join West Brom, the Celtic recruitment drive continues to run adrift on the ocean.

Celtic Manager Martin O’Neill:

💬 “I have only really known Gavin for the past six months, but his contribution was vital to our success and of course I wish him very well for the future in his new role.”

Thank you Gavin 💚#CelticFC🍀 https://t.co/rGwg4KIHLu pic.twitter.com/rhElyQp9C4

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 23, 2026

That leaves supporters getting that all too familiar knot in the stomach once more, following a season that was marred with acrimony from start to finish, which mainly centred around this issue and the continuous downsizing of the playing squad for years now as the PLC bank balance became the focus.

After Brendan Rodgers took Celtic to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in over a decade, many thought that this would be the start of something new, fresh and vibrant. Excitement filled the air after we narrowly missed out on taking Bayern Munich to extra-time at the Allianz Arena, had it not been for a late David Alaba effort that saw us exit the competition.

Rodgers himself admitted he was incredibly proud of his players that night, whilst new incumbent Martin O’Neill – who replaced the Carnlough native back in October – was effusive in praising the effort from the side that night on the grandest stage of them all. A new dawn had broken at Celtic Park and the supporters thought it would signify a new era of change.

How wrong we were.

Instead of building from a position of strength, which has been a hallmark of this Celtic Board throughout the years, we proceeded to short-change the manager again and leave him standing, twisting in the wind, after selling mostly all of his most potent attacking forces. That left Rodgers at a crossroads once again, and when the window shut last year, the bad blood ensued.

Promises had been made earlier this year from Brian Wilson, about learning lessons and recognising shortcomings, although that now appears to be nothing more than window dressing for a support that have had their fill of these charlatans – due to the heat Wilson, the CEO and CFO were facing at matches.

We are now approaching the end of June and the backroom staff still haven’t been sorted, never mind players signed. And with Shaun Maloney still not back at work speculation is mounting that he may have decided against accepting the final offer that was made after the disgraceful lowballing attempts. But worry not as Stephen McManus waits in the wings.

Recruitment is a painful process for our club, with a principal shareholder and his footmen who like to conduct business as if it was 30 years ago. That awful process and the propensity for saving every thin dime wherever possible, has seen this once great institution become a laughing stock amongst its peers, which is disgraceful. They should hang their heads’ in shame for this abomination that is currently unfolding inside Celtic Park.

Mark Hendry, writing on Celts Are Here has reported that Celtiic missed out on goalscorer Elias Filet, even though they had held a video conference last week, due to the process taking far too long for the former FC Aarau man.

The 22-goal centre-forward will now join up with Belgian side RAAL La Louvière, in what is another ominous pre-cursor to what could be another summer of discontent.

When Celtic are missing out on deals to the likes of RAAL La Louvière, whose stadium holds just over 8000 almost as much as St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park, then the extent of our problem is laid bare. It’s a humiliating rejection from an exciting young player in a hurry.

Meanwhile the Celtic support’s long wait for a Kyogo replacement continues…

Paul Gillespie

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