Chris Sutton’s latest column in today’s Daily Record – What is going on at Celtic? If Brendan Rodgers answer isn’t a warning then I don’t know what is – Chris Sutton – hasn’t missed its mark that’s for sure – and whilst his stinging critique may be uncomfortable reading for some, he’s saying what a lot of people are thinking right now.
Chris Sutton . Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 14 May 2025. Aberdeen 1-5 Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou
Chris Sutton is the master of the blunt truth, and didn’t mince his words in a scathing analysis of the club’s summer transfer window…
And when a former player speaks out, there will be those, perhaps even inside the dressing room too, who will relate to Sutton’s assessment. After all Sutton has been there and done it in a Celtic shirt and knows what you need for a title defence and a tilt at Europe.
This time Sutton’s assertion is that Celtic are weaker now than they were after the Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen. With just a week until the league opener and a make-or-break Champions League play-off looming, that’s a reality few inside the club can afford to ignore.
Sutton’s key message revolves around a telling comment from Brendan Rodgers regarding winger Yang, where Rodgers insisted Yang isn’t going anywhere — because right now, he’s a starter.
Hyunjun Yang of Celtic celebrates their goal to make it 1-1 Ajax v Celtic, Como Cup Pre Season Football, Football, Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como, Italy – 24 Jul 2025. Photo Shutterstock/ IMAGO
Sutton doesn’t attack Yang, in fact, he’s careful to point out that Yang has shown signs of being a useful squad option, and many would agree with that assessment. But the wider point is glaring – a player many of us would have shrugged at being loaned out a few months ago is now central to the team’s plans.
“If that isn’t a warning, then I don’t know what is,” Sutton writes.
Celtic fans don’t need former players or pundits to tell them what they can already see with their own eyes — that the squad, instead of being strengthened over the summer, has been left with a quality deficit, particularly so in the attacking areas of the pitch.
And one line of Sutton’s column deserves to be pulled into sharp focus –
“It’s not about where these players are coming from – it’s about the level they are at.”
That goes straight to the heart of the issue. The issue isn’t spotting the talent; it’s concluding the deals and signing it. And that should have the club’s hierarchy under serious scrutiny.
UEFA Champions League Celtic Glasgow vs Young Boys Bern, Celtic Park. Goal celebration by Kyogo Furuhashi however VAR rules out the goal. Photo Joeran Steinsiek IMAGO
“Why weren’t the replacements in the pipeline BEFORE these players left. Kyogo apparently made noises about going months before he departed. You could argue Kuhn looked like he was going long before the end of the season. Those were not surprises so plans should have been in place. Rodgers was talking about needing to refresh his squad back in the spring. To be still saying it going into August is scandalous.”
Nicolas Kühn of Celtic celebrates after scoring during the Scottish Premiership match between Dundee United FC and Celtic FC at Tannadice Park on April 26, 2025 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Too often in recent windows, it seems like Celtic are getting to the negotiating table too late, or worse, being outpaced by clubs with more modern, specialised infrastructure — clubs that have dedicated negotiators, Sporting Directors, and intermediaries who do this for a living.
At Celtic, much of that burden seems to fall on CEO Michael Nicholson. The question some are now asking — and Sutton is perhaps implying — is whether those leading these talks are perhaps out of their comfort zone in the modern transfer market.
Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Celtic, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Brendan Rodgers has remained relatively calm and professional in public, but Sutton reads between the lines. Rodgers’ use of the word “ambition” in recent interviews wasn’t accidental. The same subtle warnings appeared the last time Rodgers was in charge — and we all know how that ended.
Rodgers returned on the promise of backing, of building something that could make a dent in Europe and assert lasting domestic dominance. Rodgers arguably delivered on his promise last season. He’d earned the right to prove he could make the next incremental steps, but right now, it feels like the club has slipped into the same old patterns – dithering, waiting, reacting instead of acting.
There’s still time for business to be done. There’s still an opportunity to salvage this window and deliver a squad that can compete at home and in Europe. But the situation is now urgent.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is seen during the pre-season friendly match between Celtic and Newcastle United at Celtic Park on July 19, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Sutton writes: “If they don’t get a move on, it could be more costly than any transfer fee.”
That should resonate in the boardroom. The risk isn’t just missing out on targets — it’s undermining the manager, the dressing room, and the belief of a fanbase that had every right to expect boldness, not hesitance, this summer.
And with Champions League qualifiers ahead, Sutton is right, hesitancy now could cost the club a prestigious place at the top table of European football and cost the club a fortune to boot. It makes no sense, unless of course the manager is right, and Sutton is right, that there is a worrying lack of ambition at Celtic. They know they probably have enough to ensure the club can challenge for the title, so is European football just a bonus? Perhaps it is.
Aaron Bouwman of Ajax celebrates his goal with his team-mates during the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Sutton points out Thursday’s Ajax defeat might prove more useful than the wins against Newcastle or Sporting Lisbon, because it strips away illusions.
He claims warning signs have been flashing since the cup final. Sutton claims they were there in Rodgers’ words about comfort and complacency. They’re there now in a starting XI that looks worryingly short of attacking quality.
Sutton’s words might sting, especially for those handling the negotiations — but they are also honest and they demand attention.
Because unless something changes quickly – very quickly – this could become a summer Celtic come to regret.
Niall J
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When ever, with Lawwell in the Boardroom, did Celtic “act decisively” – he lost us good players in the past with his smug, arrogant, interfering and only interest in how much he can pocket – now with his puppet Nicholson in place, don’t be at all surprised if they mess up this window as well.
Surely in all the time the Recruitment Team have had since knowing that both Kyogo and Kuhn were leaving and with Jota out long-term, they have identified and made moves to recruit adequate replacements, so it can only be Lawwell and the Board at their incompetent dithering yet again.