The feeling towards the strength of Celtic’s squad now – compared to three weeks ago – could hardly ne more different.
Until the start of August, the Scottish Premiership champions had not signed a single outfield player. Concerns growing amongst a fanbase taking out their frustrations at an increasingly unpopular board.
But between the return of Paulo Bernardo a month ago and the close of the transfer window on Friday night, Celtic signed no fewer than five new faces to the tune of around £27 million.
They even broke their transfer record twice, Adam Idah joining in a £9.5 million permanent deal from Norwich City before Arne Engels’ £11 million arrival from Augsburg pushed Odsonne Edouard down to third in the list of Celtic’s all-time most expensive signings.
A superb end to the transfer window – coupled of Sunday’s 3-0 dismantling of Old Firm rivals Rangers – has turned a tense atmosphere into something far more positive.
And, with serious competition for places these days, manager Brendan Rodgers will soon have some welcome selection headaches coming his way.
Liam Scales stakes his claim as Celtic sign Auston Trusty
Does he stick with the perennially-underrated Greg Taylor or introduce Barcelona loanee Alex Valle. Does Angels start over the increasingly-influentual Bernardo?
And what about Auston Trusty, the £6 million signing from Sheffield United who arrives to battle Liam Scales for a spot in Rodgers’ first XI?
For Chris Sutton, the legendary former Hoops frontman, none of the trio deserve to lose their place after colossal performances against Rangers at Parkhead.
“Scales is another who really stepped to the mark,” Sutton tells the Daily Record after hailing to performances of Bernardo and Taylor. “When he went into the team a year ago, it was in answer to an SOS.
“Rodgers had been clattered by injury issues and the Irishman, who seemed set to leave the club, was suddenly thrust into the role. While others kept crying off with knocks, Scales stayed solid throughout the season.
“Of course, he was a stop-gap solution at the time. In truth, that feeling has never changed amongst some supporters and there has been a clamour for an improvement in his position alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.
“But, even if we do acknowledge that an upgrade might well be required for the Champions League given the concessions last term during the group stage, you can’t argue with what Scales has given and is still giving to his team and his boss.”
Sutton believes that Scales produced maybe his ‘strongest display in a Celtic shirt’ as Rodgers’ team cruised past Philippe Clement’s beleaguered visitors.
The 26-year-old Irishman was given a rare run of games at the heart of Rodgers’ backline after the departure of Carl Starfelt to Celta Vigo in 2023. Few would have imagined, at the time, that Scales would still be one of the first names on the team sheet 12 months on.
But, having spent the last year proving his doubters wrong, Sutton feels that Trusty cannot expect to simply stroll into that left-sided centre-back spot.
Chris Sutton backs Greg Taylor and Paulo Bernardo too
“It’s hard to imagine Trusty being signed up to be bench warmer at the cost of £6 million,” Sutton adds. “And there is every chance he could build a really strong partnership with his compatriot Carter-Vickers.
“But he is going to have to prove on the training pitch and in the games that he is a level above the former Shamrock Rovers stopper. Because that was a performance from Scales which, short-term, does not deserve the reward of being dropped.
“He (Taylor), Bernardo and Scales all did themselves no harm going forward. They really stamped themselves again.
“Now, of course, Rodgers needs depth. You are not going to get through a full season without injuries to key players and that situation damaged Celtic last season. They didn’t have the quality to replace as they seem to have assembled now and that’s an excellent sign.”
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