Celtic Urged to Stay Calm Despite Calls for January Transfer Spending

Celtic have endured a below-par start to the season following a transfer window widely criticised as a failure — but have now been urged not to panic ahead of the January market.

Amid growing calls for the Scottish champions to spend heavily in January in order to overhaul Premiership leaders Hearts, former sporting director Joe Savage has insisted that there is no emergency at Parkhead.

Savage, who previously oversaw recruitment at Hearts, believes Celtic could do with a couple of key additions — notably a defender and a striker — but says the managerial situation remains the club’s biggest issue.

“The biggest conundrum for Celtic is about the management team,” Savage told the Daily Record.
“If it’s Martin O’Neill, then you need to give him until the end of the season so that he can oversee the January transfer window.
Will he be trusted to bring in the players Celtic need to catch Hearts and win the league?
If it’s to be a new manager, then he’ll likely want to bring in his own players, which could mean a bigger overhaul.”

Savage believes much will depend on sporting director Paul Tisdale, who already has a list of targets in place but must wait for managerial clarity before making final decisions.

“Every club wants to be two or three transfer windows ahead,” he added. “But the number of injuries Celtic have suffered changes everything.
An experienced defender on loan and a striker who can make an immediate impact might now be the priority — but it’s not an emergency.”

Despite Celtic’s inconsistent start, Savage does not believe Hearts will be able to sustain their lead over the course of the campaign.

“Celtic haven’t started well — they were knocked out of the Champions League and are seven points behind Hearts — so there’s a lot of noise,” he said.
“But injuries have played a huge part. Nobody expected Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Juan Saracchi, Osman, and Kelechi Iheanacho to be out for long spells.
Kieran Tierney has been in and out, Jota is injured, and Daizen Maeda has been sidelined too — these are massive players to lose.”

Savage pointed out that Celtic’s dominance in recent years should not be overlooked, noting that the club have won 13 of the last 14 league titles, a record that hardly signals crisis.

He continued:

“Once their injured players return, and their younger lads — like Johnny Kenny, who has just signed a new four-year deal — start contributing, Celtic will be fine.
Once they click, it’ll be very difficult for anyone to catch them. That’s just what Celtic do.”