Stephen McGowan tips Celtic to sign four players this month | OneFootball

Stephen McGowan believes the Celtic board will only have themselves to blame if Brendan Rodgers fails to sign a new contract at Celtic — or even walks away before that point is reached…

Aberdeen v Celtic – Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers during the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Celtic at Pittodrie on 10 August 2025. Photo Stephen Dobson PSI (IMAGO)

Writing in The Herald McGowan reflects a feeling many in the Celtic support share. That there is a form of self-sabotage taking place in the Parkhead boardroom. Yet some of the details he outlines are just as interesting as his view on the Rodgers contract situation itself.

McGowan points out that Celtic’s strong start to the season, combined with theRangers still searching for their first win, could mean Celtic head to Ibrox with the chance to move ten points clear of their rivals. It’s his belief that if that happens — and admittedly several pieces would have to fall into place — the Celtic board could pull up the transfer drawbridge.

‘After a comfortable win over Aberdeen, Celtic’s directors might be asking themselves what all the fuss is about. All that pressure, all that grief over transfers comes as their biggest rivals spill points against Motherwell and Dundee.

‘Come 31 August, the lead over Rangers could be 10 points if the Ibrox side pursue the option to cancel their game against St Mirren ahead of a Champions League play-off and lose the first O** F*** (sic) game of the season at Ibrox. Good luck persuading the Parkhead board to start chucking their money around then.’

Reo Hatate celebrates with team mates after scoring to give Celtic a 0-2 lead. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Pittodrie. Sunday 10 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Rodgers, McGowan insists, wants to see far more ambition than that. The last four transfer windows have all ended with some level of public dissatisfaction from the manager — and, in the journalist’s words, “you can put the kettle on for five-in-a-row” if this summer’s aspirations extend no further than qualifying for the Champions League and being slightly better than theRangers.

For those who think Celtic are currently operating more of a ‘Paul Tisdale window’ than a Brendan Rodgers one — perhaps finding comfort in the idea that the manager’s transfer judgement is not fully trusted — McGowan believes that isn’t the full story.

It seems that recruitment team recommendations may also be receiving the same second-guessing treatment. McGowan cites the drawn-out Jakob Breum saga as an example –

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

‘The failure to get a couple of wingers in the door already is hard to fathom. They lost Jota to serious injury and sold Kuhn to Como for £17m. And as soon as the football department identified Jakob Breum of Go Ahead Eagles as a player worth signing, it was up to the men in grey suits to get the deal done instead of sucking in their breath and kicking the tyres like time wasters on the forecourt of the local second-hand car showroom.

Arne Engels and Nicolas Kuhn look on as Jota receives treatment. Dundee United 0 Celtic 5 at Tannadice Park on April 26, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

‘Fixated with securing ‘value for money’, offers of £1.5m, £1.75m plus add-ons then £3m went in for a player valued somewhere between £5m and £6m. As yet, Breum is no closer to moving to Glasgow and he’s not the only player to be scouted, approved by the football department then vetoed by money men who don’t appear to trust their judgement.’

If accurate, this is a worrying picture. In recent weeks, there has been some consistent briefing online questioning Rodgers’ ‘eye for a player’ — but McGowan’s reporting suggests it’s not just Rodgers being overruled; it could be Tisdale and his recruitment staff who are also being ‘chucked a deefy.’

One interesting contradiction in McGowan’s piece is his belief that Celtic will still sign four players before the closure of the summer transfer window — a view that seems somewhat at odds with the earlier observations in his article. However, we are now approaching what could be described as the ‘agent recommendations’ phase of the transfer window, and Celtic have a track record of getting such deals done. So, he could yet be proved correct.

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay watch on during the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park on March 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Still, the warning signs are there –

‘Asked if he planned to extend his contract beyond next summer, he said that he would only do so if the club continued to move forward and show some ambition. The clock is ticking.

‘Celtic will spend money between now and the end of the window, probably on four new players. As things stand, however, they’re giving the impression that they’re hardly bursting a gut to keep their manager. If that’s the case then fans can hardly blame Rodgers for bailing out again. He deserves better.’

Callum McGregor and Brendan Rodgers celebrate the league win. Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership,Celtic Park, 17 May 2025. Photo Robert Perry/Shutterstock

In truth, there’s little in McGowan’s latest piece that he hasn’t written in recent weeks — but he is a journalist with a track record of insight into Celtic’s inner workings. If what he says is accurate this time, then Rodgers is not the only one in the football department whose judgement is being perhaps being undervalued.

Which begs the question, why pay the manager £3m a year, and employ a Head of Football Operations, if it’s possible neither of their views carry decisive weight in the transfer market?

Paul Tisdale the manager of Bristol Rovers looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match between Bristol Rovers and Darlington FC at the Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2020 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

If the boardroom continues to undercut the people they have tasked with delivering success, they risk not only undermining the summer window — but losing our manager all over again.

It’s almost, but surely not, as if that’s what they want.

Niall J

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