Surprise as Kris Boyd hits nail on the head with Celtic’s summer recruitment ambitions

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The Celtic Star

·26 de maio de 2025

Surprise as Kris Boyd hits nail on the head with Celtic’s summer recruitment ambitions

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd has often been criticised for having outlandish and outrageous comments relating to Celtic. The Sky Sports pundit, however, has proven that he can surprise and hit the nail on the head with his analysis after Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final.

Speaking to Roger Hannah on Sun Sports’ Go Ballistic podcast, Boyd was surprisingly on the ball with his assessment of Brendan’s plans for the summer insisting that the defeat will do his transfer business no harm.

Vídeos OneFootball

“Are you listening to Brendan a couple of weeks before, and he was saying about having to invest in the squad and get better quality in, and a lot of people would just think it was just pain at lip service, because the season they’ve had, they were about to win another treble, and everybody thought, you’re saying this, and yes you want to get players in, but you don’t really need them as such.

Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“Brendan Rodgers will want to bring bodies in. He has to, he has to. But not only bodies, I don’t think he’s going to sign squad players now.

“If they get better players, they’ll be stronger in those positions. So, listen, it’s a big summer, but there is no doubt it helps Brendan Rodgers being able to convince the people he needs to at Celtic to, you know, we need to get players in.”

As Boyd points out, there is an argument that the powers that be at Celtic would insist that the squad is strong enough to dominate domestically if it has tied up another Treble. Although, in truth, since the turn of the year, Celtic have not been as free flowing. The manager has highlighted that recruitment is required with 3/4 players required to get the team where he wants them. Kieran Tierney will return from Arsenal, which is a major coup by the Scottish Champions but there are further positions that require strengthening.

Chris Sutton with Kris Boyd ahead of Ross County v Celtic in Dingwall. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Boyd is on the ball with his assessment, the defeat will likely stiffen Rodgers’ resolve in the transfer market and if the club want the hugely successful Irishman to stay, they will need to back him. There is no doubt that there are players that have a place around the first team as squad players but the manager has stressed that he wishes to have quality options that are first team ready.

🎥 Kris Boyd reckons Celtic’s Scottish Cup Final defeat to Aberdeen STRENGTHENS Brendan Rodgers’ case in the transfer market Watch Go Ballistic in full: 📺 https://t.co/XlzZfOgCFt
– segunda-feira, 26 de maio de 2025

The performance at the weekend was poor as it allowed an unremarkable Aberdeen side to win the trophy. The reality of the game was that Celtic failed to break down a stubborn, well set up Dons side that were determined to stay in the game. Until Kasper Schmeichel’s OG, Aberdeen failed to register a shot on target. However, by the same standard, it was not until the equaliser that Celtic ramped up the pressure in an attempt to get ahead again. The issue, as it had been for the entirety of the game, is that Celtic were too pedestrian and did not have match winners to break their opponents down. It didn’t help that reliance was placed on guys that have been so consistently good this season.

Celtic are expected to return for Mathias Kvistgaarden in the summer as the Scottish Champions look to replace Kyogo, who left for Rennes in January. The 23-year-old is expected to be available for £10m and Brondby are eager to cash in on the star given that he has two years remaining on his deal.

Tierney could be joined by another first team option at left back but you wouldn’t rule out the manager casting his eye on youth players. Mitchell Frame came off the bench in the UEFA Champions League last season but did not make an appearance this season for Rodgers’ side.

It is expected that Celtic will allow Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Stephen Welsh, Hyeok-kyu Kwon and Marco Tilio to leave the club this summer. The Celtic manager is expected to trim his squad as he seeks to add quality to the group by bolstering the ranks ahead of another tilt across all fronts. It remains to be seen how Celtic approach the summer but it was clear at the weekend that the club require to recruit well in the summer.

Perhaps Chris Sutton’s influence has worn off on Boyd…

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