Europa League registration forces a major decision for Celtic manager Martin O’Neill.
Celtic have the chance to register a maximum of three new players, so which of their new signings will miss out? And what existing players will be cut from the squad?
Celtic will be forced to make a harsh decision as two of their five January signings will have to miss out on Europa League registration.
Martin O’Neill brought Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu, Julian Aurajo, Joel Mvuka and Benjamin Arthur to the club on loan during the winter transfer window as they looked to improve all over the pitch. As much as the manager would have wanted to utilise all of these players, he will have to leave out at least two.
As per UEFA rules, only three new players may be registered ahead of Celtic’s play-off match against VfB Stuttgart. The club have until midnight on Thursday, February 5, to finalise the list of 25 players who they will be bringing with them to Germany and hopefully beyond.
Who is currently in the squad?
Celtic will have difficulty choosing who to bring to the latter stages, especially as they have to fill eight squad places with locally trained or homegrown players. They only have 24 players in the squad, as they had to leave a spot open to obey these rules.
There are three goalkeepers registered: Kasper Schmeichel, Viljami Sinisalo, and Ross Doohan. All three players are safe, and we can expect to see them all be brought along for the ride.
Seven defensive players are listed: Alistair Johnston, Liam Scales, Austin Trusty, Dane Murray, Anthony Ralston, Marcelo Saracchi, and Kieran Tierney. Johnston could return from injury in March, but Celtic may opt to replace him with new signing Aurajo, who has been in fine form for the Celts.
In the middle of the park: Reo Hatate, Yang, Luke McCowan, Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor, and Benjamin Nygren. One player could potentially be cut, depending on what route O’Neill decides to go, with Hatate seeming like the clear option.
The Japanese midfielder has caused a lot of controversy this season, with supporters believing that he is not good enough. His performances have been below the required standard, so it wouldn’t come as a shock if O’Neill did decide to make the cut.
In attack: James Forrest, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Kelechi Iheanacho, Sebastian Tounekti, Johnny Kenny, Callum Osmand and Daizen Maeda. Johnny Kenny opens a spot up as he has now left the club on loan to play his football in Bolton. Michel-Ange Balikwisha is another likely option to be swapped out, as it is felt around Parkhead that he has been abysmal in his debut Celtic season.
Callum Osmand was put in the Europa League squad in place of Cameron Carter-Vickers earlier in the season after the defender sustained an injury that has seen him sidelined for the entire campaign. Osmand was just starting to hit the ground running when he then picked up a hamstring injury in a European fixture. He will certainly be swapped out
So out of the five new signings, Celtic will surely take fan-favourites Cvancara and Aurajo, as well as the versatile Junior Adamu. Adamu’s ability to play at striker, as well as slot in on both wings, surely puts him ahead of Mvaku. It is yet to be seen if Arthur will actually get gametime or if he’ll occupy the bench for the duration of his Celtic stay, so we can all but rule him out.
Dropping out, the most likely options are Kenny, Osmand, and Hatate or Balikwisha. Celtic won’t drop Johnston when he could be close to a return, and both Hatate’s and Balikwisha’s terrible form justify putting them up for exclusion.