‘The problem’… Michael Stewart says Celtic are seriously missing two players who left in the summer

Celtic’s transfer business has been under the spotlight for weeks now and it seems that after today, the pressure on Brendan Rodgers to get his signings right in January has just intensified.

After watching Celtic struggle yet again at home, the fans will be left wondering just how a treble-winning team has fallen so far from grace.

Michael Stewart believes that the team’s lack of form is down to the club’s failure to replace two players who left in the summer.

Stewart said [BBC], “The problem for Celtic is that the team is not as good as it was last season. Jota is a huge loss, even Aaron Mooy.

“The players that have come in have not been good enough and then there’s been injuries to key players like Carter-Vickers, Abada, Maeda and Hatate.

“The only new player to make an impact is Luis Palma and he’s not as good as Jota.”

No doubt both players are a huge loss. Jota’s goals and assists coupled with Mooy bossing the midfield have left a gaping hole in the Celtic team but the club’s failure to address other areas in the team has left them exposed time and again this season.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Failing to add a new goalkeeper and left-back have cost Celtic not only domestically but in Europe as well.

The lack of decent quality to step up from the bench has been exposed as Rodgers struggles to find someone good enough to step into Reo Hatate’s shoes.

And spending over £7m on two defenders to only then play a loan signing ahead of them who is clearly not good enough is just baffling.

Stewart is right. There is a problem at Celtic but it goes far deeper than just replacing two players.

In other news, Celtic will demand a record Scottish transfer fee for £10m rated player as Newcastle enter the race

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