Sutton baffled by Musonda’s situation; slams Celtic’s recruitment

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Celtic have not had the best time since the end of the January transfer window.

Chris Sutton has told Scottish Football Extra on BT Sport (broadcast on 27th February 2018 from 18:45) that Celtic’s recruitment during the January transfer window has proven to be not good enough, and suggested that the situation surrounding Charly Musonda has left him baffled.

It was a busy winter window for the Hoops, with Marvin Compper, Jack Hendry and Lewis Morgan all signed permanently while Musonda and Scott Bain were brought in on loan until the end of the season.

Morgan returned to St Mirren on loan for the rest of the season, Compper – who was cup-tied for the Europa League games with Zenit – has been injured since arriving, Bain is yet to feature while both Hendry and Musonda have been peripheral figures so far.

While some of the signings’ fortunes will not have come as a surprise to many of the Bhoys fans, the lack of an impact made by Musonda is a major shock, with no goals or assists coming in the league so far. And Sutton slammed the club’s business in January and offered his assessment of Musonda’s situation at Parkhead.

“Performances in Europe haven’t been good enough this season. They have gone backwards,” he told Scottish Football Extra on BT Sport (broadcast on 27th February 2018 from 18:45).

“I think that Brendan is a top coach but I think some of the recruitment hasn’t been good enough. Charly Musonda was the big marquee signing, they spent big wages on him and for Brendan to discard him after just a few games, I don’t get it. It’s big business for Celtic and I think there’s a lot of fans scratching their heads.”

“I think for Celtic to move on a level and to keep Brendan at the club, they need a big summer,” he added.

It appears that Rodgers has attempted to strike a balance between papering over some cracks – with the deals of Bain and Compper – and looking to the future with Hendry and Morgan, so it is not exactly surprising that some of the fans may be disgruntled given that they needed signings in their prime as they looked to make an impact in the Europa League.

The optimism heading into the Europa League tie with Zenit meant that January was probably a good time to capitalise and try and entice top players to the club. Now they are out of the competition before the real latter stages, those ambitious targets will surely be a lot more difficult to attract in the next window.