Celtic said goodbye to two big names in the January window
It was a busy final day of the transfer window for Celtic.
Despite being pipped to a major target by Liverpool, they did bring in one player on loan from Merseyside.
On the same night, they bid farewell to a player who scored one of the club’s most iconic European goals.
Here’s how the Scottish champions fared in January’s transfer window.
INCOMING
In the end, Jonjoe Kenny was the only arrival at Celtic Park.
He’ll come in at right-back and could make his debut against Kilmarnock this evening.
Celtic become the fourth club to have taken Kenny on loan from Everton, with the 23-year-old having previously been sent to Wigan Athletic, Oxford United and Schalke.
Kenny will remain at the club until the end of the season.
OUTGOING
More went out than came in during this particular window.
The biggest names to depart were Jeremie Frimpong and Olivier Ntcham.
20-year-old right-back Frimpong left for the Bundesliga, joining Bayer Leverkusen in a permanent deal for a fee that Record Sport claim could rise to £11.5m.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, manager Neil Lennon revealed the Dutchman’s move had “been in the background for the last six or seven weeks” and that “We’re obviously very disappointed because we did everything we could to try and entice the player to stay but he made it clear quite a while ago that his ambition was to leave.”
Ntcham left on the final day of the window, joining Marseille in a loan deal with an option to buy.
If the Ligue 1 side take up that option in the summer, they’ll pay Celtic £4.5m for the man who scored that dramatic winner against Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico.
There were less high-profile departures too.
Northern Ireland under-21 goalkeeper Liam Hughes joined Liverpool for an undisclosed fee, having failed to break into Celtic’s first-team squad.
The champions also said goodbye to Norwegian defender Leo Hjelde, with the 17-year-old joining Ross County on loan for the remainder of the season.
Irish under-19 international Barry Coffey joined Cliftonville on loan until the end of the season. The 19-year-old midfielder has trained with Celtic’s first team but is yet to make the breakthrough.
Scott Robertson was the club’s other departure. Doncaster have taken the 19-year-old midfielder on loan for the rest of the current campaign.
MISSES
Celtic thought they had Preston North End defender Ben Davies in the bag, but Liverpool pipped them on deadline day.
As quoted by Record Sport, Lennon said: “It’s a blow because we were very close to doing that and obviously we got gazumped at the last minute by Liverpool.
“He lives in that area and I’m sure financially it would have been quite rewarding for him as well so disappointed but we move on.”
They also missed out on Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga, with Record Sport claiming Celtic were interested in bringing the 21-year-old on loan.
STILL AT CLUB
Speculation persisted throughout the window linking Odsonne Edouard with the likes of West Ham, Juventus and Aston Villa, but the club’s key asset remains in Glasgow for now.
Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie have also been linked with moves away, but both have stayed at the club.
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