Glasgow-based journalist Allan Edgar believes that four or five players will temporarily depart Parkhead in the summer transfer window.
Edgar was recently present as a guest on the latest episode of The Cynic podcast. The panel talked about many issues surrounding Celtic, including potential departures from Parkhead this summer. He believes that ‘four or five’ players could leave the club.
The players that Edgar mentioned specifically were Luca Connell, Jonathan Afolabi, Kerr McInroy and Lee O’Connor, and feels that these players could be loaned out this summer.
Edgar feels that clubs in Scotland might need these players and it is pretty unlikely that they get first-team football at Parkhead.
He said: “A number of the guys that were mentioned there – particularly maybe Kerr McInroy, Luca Connell, Jonathan Afolabi, Lee O’Connor – I really think these guys, because of the unique situation that we are in at the moment, I think they will inevitably be out on loan within the next couple of weeks.
Will four or five players leave Celtic this summer?
Yes, they will
No, they won't
“I think there’s real scope there for potentially other sides in Scotland to be taking those players on loan. Because the likelihood of them getting game time is very, very slim and obviously there’s the concern over whether they’re going to have development games to play or certainly Development League [games] to play in. I think you will probably see four or five guys go out on loan before the end of the window.”
TIF Thoughts…
O’Connor arrived at Celtic from Manchester United in the summer of 2019 and was loaned out to Partick Thistle in the January transfer window. He is yet to make a single first-team appearance for the Bhoys.
Connell has made a couple of appearances in the Challenge Cup for Celtic’s reserve side but is also yet to play for the Hoops first team. As for Afolabi, he was loaned out to Dunfermline in the January window and has since returned to Parkhead, while McInroy has not made a senior appearance for the Hoops, either.
All of them are pretty young players and they arguably need first-team football to develop. Therefore, it may be better for them to get a loan move and seek some first-team action elsewhere.