Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has slammed Brendan Rodgers’ transfer business at Parkhead after their latest exit from European competition.
The Hoops crashed out of the Europa League in midweek with a dismal 3-0 loss to Zenit St. Petersburg after winning the first leg 1-0 at Parkhead.
Several of Rodgers’ signings performed poorly in the second leg defeat, with goalkeeper Dorus de Vries particularly at fault for the second goal after he missed a straight strike from Daler Kuzyayev.
In a column for the Daily Record, Sutton has criticised several of those Rodgers signings, insisting that Celtic will need to improve their transfer business if they want to improve their performances in Europe.
“If you include Kristoffer Ajer – although many would link that signing to Deila – Brendan has brought in 17 players. Of those Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair have been a success – albeit they haven’t hit the heights of last season – and there’s just one leader among them in Kolo Toure. But the return from the majority – Dorus de Vries, Cristian Gamboa, Eboue Kouassi, Kundai Benyu, Odsonne Edouard, Jonny Hayes – hasn’t been great.
“Patrick Roberts did okay last season and Olivier Ntcham is a work in progress. Of those signed last month, are Lewis Morgan, Jack Hendry and Scott Bain going to take Celtic to the next level in European competition? Brendan needs to address the situation because he hasn’t improved the side in January. The fact Marvin Compper was ineligible to play in Europe was odd to say the least,” he said.
As reported by the Scotsman, it was revealed in early February that the club have £31million in the bank after an increase in revenue over the year of 2017, and Sutton focused in on that in his further criticism.
“Former Chelsea chief scout Lee Congerton arrived as head of recruitment last March with a big reputation but what has he done? It’s about time he delivered. Why aren’t Celtic finding the players they used to? They’re sitting with £31million in the bank so it’s time to invest some of it on quality acquisitions. If they want to go to the next level then they’ll need to,” said Sutton.
Celtic turn their attention back to domestic football this weekend and face a pivotal Premiership clash against Aberdeen on Sunday.
The Hoops’ lead at the top of the table may be cut to six points by kick-off, with second-placed Rangers facing off against Hearts on Saturday afternoon.
OPINION
Sutton is spot on here, and it is probably not something that many Celtic fans have really thought about. The club’s impeccable record under Rodgers has meant that his transfer business has never really been questioned. But now, their consistent failure to get anywhere in Europe is meaning that those questions must be asked, as that is the next logical step for a side so dominant in domestic football.