Without a manager, Peter Lawwell departing and a new director of football to come, making plans for the summer will be incredibly hard at Celtic.
Of course, the new faces may prefer a different approach in the transfer market, which makes it hard to predict who will arrive.
What’s the word?
That hasn’t stopped the transfer rumour mill from doing its job of churning out stories, however.
According to The Mirror, Celtic are one of a number of teams interested in signing Romain Perraud from French club Brest.
The race to sign him won’t be very simple, with Premier League side Leeds United in hot pursuit of the left-back. The defender has also now admitted that he’s a fan of Chelsea.
Celtic were keen on signing Perraud in 2019 when the player suggested a move very nearly happened.
He told Goal (via Daily Record) in November of the same year: “Celtic and Dijon made me concrete offers. With Celtic, the discussions started at the beginning of the transfer window, but Nice did not want to hear anything, so they did not come back.
“There remained Dijon and Brest. In the end, I chose Brest. I was seduced by the project and the speech I received."
Nearly two years on, the Frenchman could have to make a similar decision over his future.
Imagine him and Edouard
Perraud is the definition of a flying full-back. Adept defensively, he’s marauding whenever he goes forward.
The £7.2m-rated defender is very much in the mould of Kieran Tierney, a player who brought great joy to those at Parkhead before departing for Arsenal 19 months ago.
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So far this term, the 23-year-old has been particularly impressive, winning 1.9 tackles per game in Ligue 1. For context, that tally is only bettered by the tough-tackling Ismaila Soro and rarely-seen Anthony Ralston in the Hoops squad.
However, the most frightening aspect of his play is undoubtedly in attack. Perraud has scored three goals from the left flank this term, also providing five assists for his teammates.
Assessing stats provided by Smarterscout, a tool which uses videogame-style ratings out of 99, it demonstrates that the 23-year-old is particularly good going forward.
Adjusted to Premier League standard – via The Athletic – Perraud’s carry and dribble volume ranks at 89 out of 99. On top of that, expected goals from his chance creation are rated at 75 while his shot volume is a staggering 99 for someone in his position.
Celtic have creativity in their squad but just imagine what Edouard could do if he’s granted the service of Perraud.
He’s naturally a defender but, like many modern-day full-backs, has a mean delivery. Similarly to Tierney, Perraud’s crossing ability is sensational. The former, for instance, has made 1.3 key passes per game in England this season.
Edouard already has 20 goals this term in a struggling Celtic side. They are 18 points behind Rangers but could narrow the gap next season by slotting Perraud in on the left.
Give him the freedom of that flank and his chance creation could be incredibly beneficial for Celtic’s star striker. This has the potential to be a mouth-watering partnership.