Viljami Sinisalo could make his Celtic debut
Renato Tapia won’t be joining Celtic this summer after a flurry of speculation earlier this week linking him with a move to Scotland.
Tapia, a defensive midfielder, popped up on the radar of Celtic supporters after social media and messageboard chatter suggested he could be added to Brendan Rodgers’ squad this summer.
South American outlets also reported that the Bhoys were one of several options for the long-serving Peruvian international after he became a free agent.
However, following an exit from Celta Vigo, he’ll be staying in Spain.
Renato Tapia joins La Liga side as Celtic pursue other targets
CD Leganes, recently promoted to La Liga, have added Tapia to their ranks. They officially announced his arrival earlier on Thursday, ending any potential of a switch to Celtic.
The 29-year-old has signed a two-year deal and is already involved on the training pitch as the Spanish side prepare for their season-opener away to Osasuna.
Celtic have been keen on multiple other midfielders this summer but Tapia stood out because he offered a different profile.
The Bhoys haven’t been linked with many defensive-minded midfield options over the last 12 months.
Far more likely is a more attacking option joining the club as a replacement for Matt O’Riley, who is being aggressively pursued by teams across Europe this summer.
Arne Engels has been viewed as the most likely candidate to join Celtic in recent days, should O’Riley end up leaving Glasgow.
The £9m-rated midfielder is being pursued by other suitors, including Rennes in France, but he’s said to hold interest in pulling on the green and white hoops.
With a left-back and centre-back also needed, as a minimum, in the finals weeks of the window, Celtic have to start getting busier in the transfer market.
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With just two weeks of Celtic’s transfer window remaining, the club are juggling multiple incoming and outgoing deals.
The signature of Adam Idah has added a much-needed boost to Brendan Rodgers’ attacking firepower but there are plenty of other priorities in the squad.
One of those is sourcing a replacement for Matt O’Riley if the midfielder leaves the club this summer.
Last season’s standout is being pursued by multiple teams in England and across Europe, with the potential of a sizable bid beyond £25m that tempts Celtic to sell.
To that end, Celtic are looking at Augsburg talent Arne Engels – and a big money move is possible per reports this week.
Arne Engels fancies a move to the Bhoys
Sky Sports reports that the Germans value him at around £9m in the market, meaning he would be an expensive purchase by Celtic’s standards.
However, there is hope of a deal being done. Despite interest from elsewhere including French side Rennes, Engels is said to favour a move to Glasgow to play Champions League football.
Any move is dependent on O’Riley leaving the club this summer. So if the Danish international doesn’t make his switch, we won’t see Engels in Scotland.
Engels has an exciting profile
Still just 20, Engels has been a breakthrough talent in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons, making 51 appearances in total for Augsburg.
FotMob reckon he’s a midfielder who has an eye for goal and forward-thinking creativity in possession, looking to be something of a like-for-like replacement for O’Riley – albeit with lots of development to come.
Celtic are benchmarking their potential replacement for O’Riley at a quality level with other names such as Daniel Gazdag linked with a switch to the Bhoys this summer.
Many fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Celtic manage to retain O’Riley’s talent for another season but if he does leave then the club must delve into the market with a bit of ambition.
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Celtic career has gone from strength to strength since he made the permanent move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2022.
The central defender has won five trophies on top of the two he collected during his loan spell at Celtic and, all going well, Carter-Vickers is likely to add to that total this season.
The big defender also has 18 caps for the USA after his form for Celtic reinstated him into the national side’s plans and he participated in this summer’s Copa America albeit the Americans crashed out at the group stages.
The Celtic stopper was heavily criticised by the USA media for his performance in the shoch 2-1 defeat to Panama and was benched for the final group game against Uruguay.
After the tournament, Gregg Berhalter left his position as the head coach of the USNMT and now, his successor looks set to be announced this week.
Mauricio Pochettino set for USA job
According to The Telegraph, former Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has agreed to become the new head coach of the US National Men’s Team today.
Pochettino’s remit is to lead the US into the 2026 World Cup and this could be a huge boost to Cameron Carter-Vickers’ international career.
Despite being named in the US Copa America squad, Carter-Vickers’ international game time has been sporadic over the last year or so.
After recovering from his knee surgery last summer, the Celtic defender has only started two of the last 12 USA fixtures and was left out of the squad completely for the CONCACAF Nations League semi final against Jamaica and then the 2-0 final win against Mexico.
Carter-Vickers will be hoping that with a new manager in place he will get the opportunity to shine with a clean slate and with games against Alistair Johnston’s Canada and New Zealand coming up next month, he won’t need to wait too long to see where he fairs in the new manager’s plans.
Celtic enter the Premier Sports Cup second round on Sunday, and their task is to defeat Hibernian at home following a victory at Easter Road last weekend.
With a place in the quarter-final at stake, the Bhoys will be going all-out to try and secure a smooth passage to the next phase.
Brendan Rodgers lost his one and only match in the competition against Kilmarnock last term, so expect the Irishman to pull out all the stops to ensure a repeat scenario doesn’t ensue.
Knockout football comes with a different kind of jeopardy, meaning the Hoops need to be on guard to get the job done despite the psychological advantage of taking three points in the capital just four days ago.
Looking ahead to the tie, here are three players the Celtic support will be eager to see involved this weekend.
Viljami Sinisalo could make his Celtic debut
Viljami Sinisalo joined Celtic earlier this summer from Aston Villa and featured throughout the Bhoys’ pre-season tour of the United States.
However, there is some logic that he could be rewarded with a start this weekend. Kasper Schmeichel has impressed in his opening competitive appearances between the sticks, keeping consecutive clean sheets on league duty.
Still, the Finland international has been brought in to claim the number one jersey eventually, you would think, so why not offer him a taste this weekend?
Switching goalkeepers in cup competitions is common. Sinisalo recorded 14 clean sheets in 50 appearances for Exeter City last season, so he can step up to the challenge.
Continuing his long-term development will be crucial for years to come, making it worth a thought at least when Rodgers deliberates over his starting line-up.
Paulo Bernardo’s welcome back to Celtic Park
I get the feeling some of you will call me unimaginative for this. Still, Paulo Bernardo will surely get a warm reception from the home support if he is selected to feature against Hibernian.
Completing his move back to Celtic from Benfica at the start of the month, the Portugal Under-21 international has plenty to build on following four goals and three assists in 33 outings last term.
Enjoying some notable moments, his strike against Rangers at Celtic Park and driving run at Hampden that led to Adam Idah’s Scottish Cup-winning goal stand out from his debut season at the club.
Now a permanent asset, he will be a valuable cog in Rodgers’ engine room once again. Determined to make his mark, Hibernian at home appears to be the perfect opportunity to let him orchestrate in midfield.
Adam Idah could play after finally arriving from Norwich City
Speaking of homecomings, hearing the decibel levels at Celtic Park if Idah takes to the pitch on Sunday will be interesting, to say the least.
Signing on the dotted line for an initial fee of £8.5 million that could rise to £9.5 million inclusive of add-ons, you would imagine he will be thrown straight into the action.
Now officially a Celtic player for the next five years, the Republic of Ireland international will be expected to conjure up more crucial moments following instances such as his braces against Hibernian and Motherwell and goals against Rangers at Ibrox and Hampden last term.
Despite all the speculation surrounding his future, the Bhoys have their man, and there is excitement over what he could accomplish back at the club.
Kyogo Furuhashi may start the affair, though it remains to be seen. Nevertheless, if Idah was to score on Sunday, the roof might just about come off Celtic Park.
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