Celtic have entered the new season needing more recruits than you can count on two hands.

The Hoops have suffered consecutive losses and with more player exits likely on the horizon, this squad may only get worse.

On the chalkboard

One area that’s of blatant concern to Celtic right now is in defence.

They shipped 16 more goals than Rangers in the Premiership last term and they have started 2021/22 in a similar light.

They conceded three times across the two legs with Midtjylland and then let in another two goals to newly promoted Hearts on the opening day of the season.

The Bhoys are without a proven right-back and have also lost Kristoffer Ajer. However, there are also issues on the left-hand side where Diego Laxalt hasn’t been replaced.

Ange Postecoglou has looked towards Greg Taylor as his main option so far but they could still choose from Boli Bolingoli and the young Adam Montgomery.

Taylor hasn’t been hugely convincing in the early weeks. He was particularly abject in the first leg of Champions League qualifying, losing possession 18 times and winning just two of seven ground duels.

The solution

Postecoglou could upgrade on Taylor this summer by securing the services of Lee Buchanan.

The left-sided Derby star has attracted the interest of Celtic in the last few weeks and could be snapped up fairly easily.

His club survived relegation from the Championship to League One last term but have been handed a suspended points deduction after failing to pay their players.

The future of Buchanan and his club remains distinctly unclear but Celtic could hand him a get out of jail card.

Judging by words from his manager, Wayne Rooney, he’d be a stellar acquisition too. England’s all-time record goalscorer once said: “He's a top, top player. I'd argue he's one of the best young left-backs in the country. And he can go to another level as well....no....he's a real top player."

Despite playing at the lower end of the second tier in England, he’s already been handed two U21 caps for his country and looks an incredibly promising player for the future.

The 20-year-old proved he can be creative by picking up three assists last season but it’s in defensive areas where he’s more convincing than Taylor.

Buchanan was successful with 1.6 tackles per game last season which happened to be 0.1 more than Taylor. Furthermore, the youngster won a whopping 2.9 aerial battles per match which was streets ahead of Celtic’s main option.

By comparison, the Hoops’ number 3 won only 1.1 aerial duels per outing. With that in mind, Buchanan would be a very smart signing.

AND in other news, Ange can finally axe Celtic's "walking joke" by signing "very dominant" 6ft3 colossus...