Lennon claims Celtic are set for summer rebuild, wants to be ‘forceful’

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Celtic are looking at a major rebuild this summer.

Celtic’s interim boss Neil Lennon has told the Daily Record that the club are planning for a major overhaul in the summer transfer market, claiming there will be a full rebuild at Parkhead.

The Bhoys beat Rangers 2-1 on Sunday afternoon to move 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with another title imminent for the club.

Despite that success, there are problems in terms of the squad at Parkhead, with many players potentially leaving – and replacements subsequently needed.

Loanees Filip Benkovic, Timothy Weah, Jeremy Toljan and Oliver Burke are all set to return to their parent clubs, whilst Dedryck Boyata, Emilio Izaguirre, Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa are out of contract.

Kieran Tierney is bound to attract interest, whilst question marks still linger over the futures of Olivier Ntcham, Dorus de Vries, Jack Hendry and Marvin Compper; that’s 13 names who may be not be Celtic players next season.

The loanees and out of contract players certainly need replacing, and boss Lennon is under no illusions about the job facing him if he lands the Celtic managerial role permanently this season.

Lennon has admitted that Celtic undoubtedly face a rebuild this summer, much as they did in 2005, when the Bhoys parted ways with Chris Sutton, Magnus Hedman, Ulrik Laursen, Joos Valgaeren, Paul Lambert, Mo Sylla, Rab Douglas and Jackie McNamara.

Celtic spent heavily that year to replace the outgoing players, and Lennon seems to think the same is needed again, and believes progress could be imminent given Celtic’s unassailable position at the top of the table, admitting he wants Celtic to be ‘forceful’ in the market.

“It is a rebuilding job. No question about that,” said Lennon. “There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Hopefully, with the [league] lead that we have, we can start to plan a little bit more and be a little more forceful on it. It was a rebuild [in 2005] and I think we need a bit of rebuild again. It is reminiscent,” he added.