Chris Sutton has claimed that Celtic have been “in for” a number of right-backs this month, but they have been “turned down” in their efforts at this stage.
Brendan Rodgers may have Mikael Lustig, Christian Gamboa and Anthony Ralston in his squad, but Hoops fans are extremely vocal about the lack of quality at right-back, especially as Lustig and Gamboa are out of contract at the end of the season.
Sutton believes that it would be a blow if Rodgers didn’t sign a right-back before the transfer window slams shut.
“Celtic need a right-back, that’s what they need,” said Sutton, as shown on BT Sport Football’s official Twitter account on Wednesday evening.
“They’ve been in for a couple who have turned them down, which is disappointing.
“They have to [sign a right-back]. I think it would be hugely disappointing if they didn’t get one in.”
The SPFL is back and the title race is well and truly on ? Darrell is joined by Chris Sutton and Stephen Craigan… https://t.co/TQj4YnXJHl
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 23, 2019
OPINION
Celtic don’t just need a right-back this month, they need to improve their defensive options as a whole. Craig Gordon has been very hit and miss but Scott Bain played well in goals against Airdrie. Dedryck Boyata’s deal expires at the end of the season and Filip Benkovic will be returning to Leicester after his loan ends. Kieran Tierney has been struggling with injury and Emilio Izaguirre is hardly good enough as a stand-in. That means that Rodgers could have to sign players across his entire defence in 2019, but signing a new right-back is definitely a good start. It is so obvious that this is a weakpoint in Rodgers’ side. Lustig is constantly exposed by opponents, Gamboa is nowhere near good enough for a title-chasing side and Ralston is still young and quite inconsistent. Celtic would be making a grave error by not signing a right-sided defender in the coming week.