Familiar sense of transfer window DeJa’Vu has settled over Celtic | OneFootball

With the transfer window entering its final weekend, Celtic are still scrambling to secure key reinforcements — and once again, the familiar sense of transfer DeJa’Vu has settled over the club…

AEK Athens v RSC Anderlecht – UEFA Conference League ATHENS, GREECE – AUGUST 28 : Dolberg Kasper forward of RSC Anderlecht in action during the UEFA Conference League 2025 26 play-off round second leg between AEK Athens and RSC Anderlecht on August 28, 2025 in Athens, Greece, 28 08 2025 Athens Greece Photo: IMAGO Jan De Meuleneir

Danish striker Kasper Dolberg has emerged as the Hoops’ main target, in recent days, but the deal remains locked in a chain of negotiations that highlights both the club’s immediate needs and the deeper issues Brendan Rodgers insists must be addressed.

Celtic have made an £8m bid for Dolberg, who has rebuilt his career in Belgium with Anderlecht after earlier spells at Ajax, Nice, and Sevilla. The Belgian side, however, are unwilling to let the 27-year-old go until they secure a replacement. Here’s what Sky Sports had to say on that.

‘Genoa is working on the transfer market: they’re trying to bring Onana back from Besiktas and Cornet from West Ham. On the outgoing side, they’ve received an offer from Anderlecht for Vitinha , which is being evaluated.’

Adam Idah scores the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

The ripple effect has reached Swansea City as well. Adam Idah, who was due to complete a £7m move to the Championship side after passing a medical, was abruptly recalled by Celtic when Rodgers insisted no sale would be sanctioned without a replacement lined up. Idah, just back from injury, has now been pulled back into first-team contention and could even feature in Sunday’s Glasgow derby at Ibrox.

It is a scenario that sums up Celtic’s late-window approach, a mixture of improvisation, brinkmanship, and necessity rather than preparation.

Rodgers did not disguise his frustrations when asked about the club’s transfer business in Friday’s press conference.

“We need to find the solutions as to over the course of the summer, why we weren’t able to strengthen before the games when clearly we wanted to.

“Because we can’t be as a football club in this cycle where we’ve grown for a couple of years. We get to Bayern Munich. We show great signs, and then we stand still. We can’t do that. So we have to understand the why in that. But then the next point is it’s done. We’re not in the Champions League. We’re playing in the Europa League. We have some brilliant games. We get domestic titles to defend. And altogether we can have a really, really good season.”

When asked why Celtic always seem to leave business late, Rodgers offered a blunt response:

“The example of the young guy at Brugge there during the week, you know, 6 million pound winger*”

Carlos Forbs #9 of Club Brugge KV dribbles the ball in the first half of the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

*Carlos Forbs a player Celtic were interested in previously when he went by the name Borges.

“He’s signed. He comes in and does his work and makes a difference. So, for us as a football club, it’s not about investment either, because this club will invest. The club’s super well run. The investment is there. We need to look at the timing of the investment.

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay applaud during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

And does that go back to recruitment? Does it go back to identification? All these different facets, but what I do know is we have to be better at it. So, it’s not about investment. The club will invest. We’ll see over the next few days. I’m pretty sure we’ll invest. But we want to get the timing of investment important, just to give us every single chance to be the best version of Celtic that we can be.”

Rodgers was then asked whether Celtic can finally change this culture by next summer. His answer was cautiously optimistic, while again stressing the need for a new approach.

“Well, that’s we have to discuss. We have to look at that and I’d be very hopeful. We’ve got a major owner in Dermot Desmond who’s a super-intelligent guy. We’ve got board of directors who bleed for the club. They want the club to do well.

Dermot Desmond prior to the Celtic vs St Mirren Cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park on May 20, 2023 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

So, everyone here’s connected. It’s not, you know, why I see and I hear all these stories of disconnection. It can’t be further from the truth. Every single guy from me, the board, Dermot, we love Celtic, but we want Celtic to be the very, very best.

There’s a business model that you see works so well. I want to try and ensure the football model works equally as well. So, it’s fluent and agile and we keep ahead of the game. So, when we lose players, we’re not in this cycle of waiting, waiting, waiting, standing still and missing out on competitions that we want to be in. So, that’s the idea hopefully, over the coming months.”

The reporter then put it to Rodgers that these same frustrations had been raised last year and by previous managers before him. Rodgers’ answer acknowledged the continuity of the problem.

“Probably if you look at what Ange has said, what Neil Lennon’s said, what someone else said, it would be around about the same. So that’s what I’m saying, it’s a trend. So we need to understand that. We need to understand that from a football context. Because you want to be as well-equipped as you possibly can. And like I said, it’s not about investment. The club will invest. But it’s all about timely investment, and I think that it’s most definitely what we need to look at.”

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

For Rodgers, securing Dolberg before the deadline would at least ease the short-term pressure. The Dane offers international pedigree, Champions League experience, and the kind of link-up play Celtic have lacked beyond Kyogo. But whether or not the deal gets over the line, the bigger conversation is about how Celtic stop repeating this cycle.

Rodgers’ words carry a familiar echo. From Lennon to Postecoglou, and now again under his own second spell, the frustration is that Celtic too often enter September under-prepared, rather than entering July armed and ready.

For now, Celtic supporters can only watch the final days of the window unfold, hoping Dolberg is the striker to arrive. But Rodgers’ insistence is very much clear – the bigger transfer problem won’t be solved by one late deal. It requires the club to rethink its entire approach, or else history will keep repeating itself.

Niall J

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