Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (19), joined on a season-long loan from Manchester City yesterday, following a tradition of City central defenders after Jason Denayer and Dedryck Boyata took the same route.
We have a settled first-choice on the right of central defence with Cameron Carter-Vickers, while on the left we vacillate between Liam Scales and Auston Trusty. Jahmai is right-footed, so it would be a surprise to see him dislodge Liam and Auston, he is more likely to deputise for Cameron – who needs a reliable backup.
With Liam, Auston and Hayato Inamura available for the left position, right side is covered by Cameron, Jahmai, Stephen Welsh (25). and Dane Murray (22). Seven is at least one central defender too many. Dane is in the last year of his contract and Brendan Rodgers is likely to spend the remainder of the month making a final decision on whether to allow him or Stephen (who has two years on his contract) to leave the club this month.
Playing our League Cup game against Falkirk on the Friday gives us extra recovery time before the first qualifier, five days later. In deciding to play Livingston at home, three days before the return leg, instead of exercising the option to postpone that game, Brendan clearly feels his squad will need gametime. Given that Sloven and Almaty will both have played twice as many competitive games as Celtic at that stage, it feels a good call.
Regular reminder: there are 13 days to add to our Champions League playoff squad and 25 days to add to our season squad. Getting it done right is more important than getting it done early. Fretting about our Coefficient Monkeys is not a good look. We spent £27m between 6 Aug 2024 and the end of that month. Try to remember how successful sides work.
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