When he arrived from parts unknown (okay, Spain) last summer, prodigal Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers famously told supporters questioning his return, “See you in May.”
No, not because his managerial acumen is in doubt—the Hoops have looked brilliant since the start of preseason—but because the status of the squad is very much in the balance.
Assuming that, by the time you read this, midfielder Matt O’Riley has moved on to greener pastures (in Brighton, London or Italy), Rodgers and the Parkhead board will have a big hole to fill. No one took to Rodgers’ style and approach better than the Dane (by way of England) in 2023-24, and he will most definitely be missed, particularly in the attacking third.
Compounding that, Celtic squad stalwarts Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate may soon follow O’Riley out the door, if “media reports” are to be believed, with Manchester City and Leicester City, respectively, the possible destinations.
True, most “media reports” this time of year are sensational, to say the least, but where there is smoke there is most certainly fire. Like O’Riley, Kyogo and Hatate have hardly been shy about their wanting to test their skills at the highest levels of the sport.
News flash: A cold night in Dingwall—to paraphrase that old line about Stoke—isn’t what they have in mind. Also, that winger Mikey Johnston appears headed for Burnley will suddenly leave the Celtic cupboard of attacking players mighty bare.
Yes, some of these same “media reports” have some interesting names allegedly on their way to Glasgow’s East End, including LAFC’s Mateusz Bogusz, FC Lausanne’s Alvyn Sanches and Manchester United’s Hannibal Mejbri.
But until at least one of the three is photographed with a green-and-white scarf over their head, panic will be the rule of the day.
And even a signing will hardly calm nerves all that much: A new player can hardly be expected to replace the likes of O’Riley right away. A bedding-in period has to be assumed, as we were just telling Nicolas Kuhn the other day.
From now until the end of the month will be strange days indeed. Titles can’t be won in August, can they? We will see in May.
