Once the transfer window opens, Celtic will have a colossal job on their hands.A number of Hoops players, including Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer, have been linked with the exit door while they have several loanees that will head back to their parent clubs after a spell at Paradise.
On the chalkboard
One man who will definitely leave the Bhoys behind this summer is Scott Brown as the midfield veteran heads to Aberdeen to take up a player-coach role.
His replacement in the middle of the park could be Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.
The Irishman is out of contract at the end of the season and will be available to lure to Glasgow on a free transfer.
Celtic have been linked with the 30-year-old for a good few months now and he could well become Dominic McKay’s first Celtic signing.
GIVEMESPORT claim that talks between McCarthy and the Hoops are now at an advanced stage.
Forget McCarthy
Despite being a boyhood Celtic fan, they need to completely forget about signing him this summer.
That’s because they have a number of young players in the same position coming through that they’d be better off blooding.
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The Hoops are in a transitional stage where they need to move away from older players and look towards the future.
Ismaila Soro is one player who should get a chance instead while they also have Luca Connell coming through the ranks.
However, there is a youngster who they will welcome to the club that should be given the limelight; Liam Shaw.
Celtic have agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old, who is set to join up with his teammates at Lennoxtown for the first time this summer.
The Sheffield Wednesday youngster has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in England, playing in a multitude of positions. He can feature at centre-back but he also looks at home playing in midfield and using his long levers to stride forward.
Comfortable in possession and full of energy, his box to box style could completely reinvigorate this Celtic team.
He is adept in the air, winning 1.7 aerial duels per game but he also knows how to pick a pass and beat a man.
For instance, against Rotherham this year, he completed three key passes and four dribbles as Wednesday lost 2-1.
With Brown walking through the exit door this summer, the last thing they need to do is replace him with another ageing player. By utilising Shaw, it could breathe fresh life into a decrepit starting XI.
In a similar way to Ajer, he loves to burst forward, something we saw in the FA Cup earlier this season against Exeter.
He galloped beyond the halfway line in lung-busting fashion from centre-half before dancing past his marker on the right flank and fashioning a goal. It was a piece of play that The Mirror’s James Whaling said was “sensational.â€
Blessed with tremendous stamina and non-stop energy, McKay will need to urge the new management team to faze Shaw into proceedings as soon as possible.