Author: Mark Dixon

Danish defender Ulrik Laursen was signed by Martin O’Neill back in 2002 for a fee of £1.3 million from Premiership rivals Hibs, after impressing in his two year stint at Easter Road… It wasn’t hard to see why Martin liked the 6ft 3in Dane, as he was a solid, no-nonsense defender, who although a left back, was also capable of playing as a centre-back. The Celtic manager and indeed the Celtic supporters knew all about the Danish defender’s capabilities as he was often a standout whenever the Hoops faced the Easter Road side, so he was heralded as a welcome…

Jota is on road to recovery, but our Superstar from Portugal is still at least three months away from any return to action… Martin O’Neill has revealed that Jota should be back on the training field in the coming weeks, but urged a note of caution on the winger returning to full fitness anytime soon. Jota has been sidelined with a serious ACL injury since our title winning day at Tannadice in April 2025.  And that has left supporters wondering if we would ever see him in a Celtic jersey, or a football field for that matter ever again. Speaking…

Martin O’Neill is resigned to losing star Celtic trio, although he still hopes for a change of heart… Martin O’Neill has spoken about the trio of players who are tipped to leave the club in the coming weeks, and like the supporters doesn’t want to see them leave, but knows deep down like the rest of us that he’s fighting a losing battle. Martin gave his thoughts on Daizen Maeda, and his fellow countryman Reo Hatate, both of whom are tipped to depart Glasgow in the coming weeks. First up he gave his thoughts on star man Daizen, saying “I…

Two English Championship sides are said to be interested in signing Celtic striker Johnny Kenny, according to serval outlets. The 23 year old Irish International, despite impressing in flashes, has had limited opportunities in a Celtic shirt, and spent the second half of last season on loan at league one side Bolton Wanderers. Kenny impressed at the trotters scoring six goals that contributed to their promotion to the championship, before suffering an injury towards the end of the season, which resulted in the striker being sent back to Glasgow for treatment. It was thankfully not as serious as first feared,…

Kelechi Iheanacho is said to have snubbed several offers from various countries, as it looks increasingly likely he will make a quick fire return to Celtic park in the coming weeks or even days. The Nigerian international was a key figure in the hoops side last campaign despite spending a period of time on the treatment table, scoring vital goals in the title run in, as well an effort in the Scottish cup final against Dunfermline that clinched the domestic double. 29 year old Iheanacho, signed as a free agent under Brendan Rodgers making himself a fans favourite, and a…

Qualification for the Champions League group stages is vital for a club of Celtic’s stature, not just for the prestige, but the financial rewards that are on offer, which are currently at an all time high with a minimum figure of £30 – £40 million to be made just for competing in the newly tweaked group stage format. Last year we failed in our quest to qualify for the fourth consecutive year, frustratingly falling to Kazakh minnows Kairat. That meant we had to make do with a place in the Europa League, but it was probably a blessing in disguise…

Brondby star and Bosnian international midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic was said to have been a top target of Celtic in the opening days of the summer transfer window… Now with his club bosses speaking for the first time about the situation, it’s opened the door for the Hoops to contact the Danish side to open talks over a proposed deal. The battling Swedish-born midfielder who has also played for Roma, and Ajax as well as the Danish Superliga side, played all four games as Bosnia and Herzegovina reached the last 32 in the World Cup in the United States.  He is…

Big Chris Sutton is usually spot on, but he’s let his heart rule his head this time by dismissing current World Champions Argentina… Chris Sutton was a Celtic icon as a player, due to being a thorn in the side of opponents and supporters alike, and he continues to ruffle feathers of the same folk as a respected pundit. Chris is usually bang on the money with his assessments of the game, but has somewhat jumped the gun with his latest post on social media outlet X. In the wake of England’s extremely fortunate win over Norway, and Argentina’s scrappy…

Celtic are interested in former Hibs striker Kieron Bowie, with it being suggested that the club are willing to part with big money to lure the 23 year old back Scotland… To do so, they will need to beat off competition from several Serie A clubs, but in my opinion we should go all in to land the Scotland international who impressed in the Italian top fight despite Hellas Verona’s relegation to Serie B. At 6ft 2in tall, Bowie is a physical presence, but he’s also tidy on the ball, and knows the way to goal, so he’s literally a…

It’s no secret that Celtic are in the market for a new number one, and in recent weeks we’ve been credited with concrete interest in Croatian Dinko Horkas, and German Tjark Ernst with both players camps said to have been sounded out about a move to the 5IAR Scottish Champions… I’m sure both players have are decent enough, but for me we should be going for a man I’ve written about on a regular basis on The Celtic Star and now on our new home at Celtic Shorts, and that is Croatian number one Dominik Livakovic. Livakovic is a truly…

You may recall that Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager was offered a pre-contract by Celtic earlier in the year… However nothing was forthcoming from the player or his agent, as Schlager decided to keep his options open until the summer when his contract expired. Schlager who played in all Austria’s World Cup games, was a RB Leipzig player last term, but is now without a club after his contract with the Bundesliga side expired last month.  So far he’s not been linked with any interested clubs despite being a free agent, so there may be an opportunity for Martin O’Neill to…

World Cup Heartbreak for former Celt Kristoffer Ajer as Norway lose in extra-time to England in last night’s quarter-final… Former Celtic favourite Kristoffer Ajer suffered heartbreak along with not just the Norwegian population, but the majority of the Scottish viewers, as the Norway national side were eliminated from the World Cup quarter finals by England in a dramatic contest on Saturday night. Norway were the much better side on the night, but spurned opportunities, and a VAR influenced disallowed goal cost them a place in the last four of the competition at the expense of Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions. The…

Former Celtic star Nicolas Kuhn is now surplus to requirements at Italian side Como and is available for transfer… With plenty of reports on the transfer front regarding Celtic, some former Hoops stars are also in the news, with one former player ready to make an unexpected departure from his club after a £17m move from Celtic last summer. It’s been reported that Como are reportedly keen to offload the former Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn just a year after signing the German for a reported £17 million, according to a leading Italian sports outlet, who expect him to one of…

Yet another young star lured south, will this exodus ever end?… Yet another young Celtic prospect has been lured by the riches and fame on offer down south, leaving us all wondering if it’s possible to actually keep hold of our up and coming young talent, at least long enough for them to make any sort of impact on the first team. The latest youngster to make the move is talented 16 year old winger Erskine Rennie, who decided to join Fulham ahead of a host of fellow EPL sides, with some European clubs also said to have been interested…

Emam Ashour, the flawed genius. Could he be the spark to ignite our side? Celtic have been heavily credited with an interest in Haissem Hassan, but just recently we’ve been linked with his Egyptian International teammate, with the man in question being Emam Ashour of Al Ahly. According to several outlets it’s believed that Celtic are pushing hard to conclude a deal which would see the club pay £4 million for the versatile attacking player, with his salary said not to be an issue. Ashour who scored twice for the Egyptians at the World Cup is considered to be one…

The recent revelation that Callum McGregor has signed up for the same agency as Brendan Rodgers, has started tongues wagging in the footballing world… It’s being suggested that the serial winning Celtic skipper might be about to be reunited with his former gaffer over in Saudi Arabia… Callum has signed up with Unique Sports group which boasts several big names in it’s stable including his former manager, and it’s only natural that folk come to the conclusion that the Celtic captain could be ready to up sticks and join up with the Irishman at Al Qadsiah. It’s not an outrageous…

It’s fair to say that Celtic wide man Sebastian Tounekti had a bit of a lukewarm campaign last term, but then again who didn’t? His second season as a Celtic player could be make or break… The Tunisian international was signed for £5.5 million last summer, and whilst he’s impressed in flashes, his overall game is somewhat been suffering from a severe lack of consistency. At times Sebastian  looks like a world beater At times Sebastian  looks like a world beater, while on other occasions he looked well short of the level requires to make it at Celtic. He’s been…

Some white smoke metaphorically has finally appeared over Paradise to signal a new signing, as the club completed the signing of Columbian attacker Camilo Duran in a reported £5.5 million deal from Azerbaijan side Qarabag… In signing on the dotted line, Duran becomes the first Colombian to don the Hoops in the club’s illustrious unbroken 138 year history, and we can only wish him all the best and hope he is a massive success. The 24 year old who can count a spell at Brazilian side Flamengo on his CV, as well as starring in the lower reaches of Portuguese…

The online world is awash with rumblings of our very own Jota, and his apparent struggle to fully recover from the ACL injury that’s plagued him for the past 15 months or so… The Superstar from Portugal has been absent from the side since suffering an ACL injury against Dundee United at Tannadice in April 2025, the day we clinched our fourth successive league title. Despite an original recovery period of nine months or so, he’s still nowhere to be seen, with even light training duties seeming a long way off. It was revealed at the tail end of last…

According to manager Martin O’Neill, talks are currently ongoing in a bid to bring Kelechi Iheanacho back to Celtic… This development comes just a week or so after Iheanacho becoming a free agent after his one year deal with the club expired with seemingly no hope of another one in the offing. If talks go well, and all goes to plan, the Nigerian international will soon be joining the rest of his teammates to be put through a rigorous pre-season training program in Portugal. Many Celtic supporters believe Kelechi to be something of a ‘game changer’ and that’s a fair…