Ten first teamers out the door, no new signings, Sadiku nowhere to be seen | OneFootball

After an extremely disappointing 2024/25 season that resulted in Celtic FC Women finishing FOURTH in the league, just a year after winning the SWPL title, many players have departed the club, and it would be a lie to say I wasn’t concerned…

Lucy Ashworth-Clifford, Murphy Agnew, Kit Loferski, Luana Munoz, Colette Cavanagh, Mathilde Carstens, Bruna Lourenco, Celya Barclais, Abi Harrison and importantly, Kelsey Daugherty, have all departed the club following the expiration of their contracts.

IMAGO / PA Images Celtic v FC Twente – UEFA Women s Champions League – Group Stage – New Douglas Park Celtic goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty clears from a corner during the UEFA Women s Champions League, group stage match at New Douglas Park, Hamilton on Tuesday October 8, 2024. Photo: Andrew Milligan

Barclais, Harrison and Daugherty were all in talks to renew their contracts but nothing came of this.

That’s TEN players that have now departed Celtic’s small squad, with just 17 named first team players remaining in the squad. Of course, we are all used to the ‘revolving door’ transfer policy, but a lot of supporters are seeing this as extremely concerning, especially considering some of the talent that we have let go.

Daugherty failing to renew her contract could be a massive blow for the Ghirls, and interestingly, we can get some insight into the potential dressing room atmosphere thanks to a comment left on her farewell Instagram post by Harrison.

Harrison’s comment read: “Don’t stay where you are tolerated, go where you are appreciated.”

Supporters were already concerned that the management situation isn’t looking great, but this could give us an inside look to the potential problems. Of course, we cannot confirm what is actually going on, but this rings that something is not right. But the question remains – what is the problem?

Some people point to Elena Sadiku, who was appointed head coach of Celtic Women on 12 January 2024, as being one of the biggest problems. At times, some have pointed out that her tactics don’t seem to be working, and off the back of a trophyless season, it is clear that something needs to change in this regard.

Others may point to these players as being the problem though, but a lot of these really bailed us out last season. Daugherty popped up with some fantastic moments and was a consistent presence between the sticks, while Agnew gave us a legendary memory, scoring against Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Group Stage.

Elena Sadiku at Stamford Bridge. Photo Celtic FC

Over the summer, there have been many calls for Elena Sadiku to be shown the door after the disappointing end to the season, but the board seems to have faith that she is the right woman for the job. A handful of supporters were especially vocal about their disagreement with this sentiment, however, it seems as though she’s going to be given another summer to prove that she deserves to manage Celtic.

Could that be why so many players have now departed? Could Sadiku be planning major recruitment? It’s possible, but we are now in July and have yet to hear word of a single signing. Not to mention the fact that Sadiku isn’t even in the country despite the players having returned for pre-season. Incredibly she has been away doing media duties for the Women’s Euros in Switzerland. If she stays until the final, which it seems that she will, she will not be back in Scotland until after 27 July.

Celtic FC Manager Elena Sadiku. Celtic FC Women v theRangers, SWPL Sunday 11 May, at Hamilton, Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

This clearly doesn’t give much time for recruitment considering the first game of the league season is on 17 August against Hearts. We kicked off our pre-season fixtures in the first few days of August last season, so the question remains as to if we’ll travel away again for pre-season, or if we’ll remain rooted in Scotland.

Personally, I think that Sadiku could certainly be part of the problem, but I think the issue goes bigger than that. The board are clearly reluctant to inject additional funds into a struggling women’s team, and considering they are already under a lot of pressure for what some see as the lack of investment in the men’s first team, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Celtic FC Women are a fantastic team that deserve to thrive, but when we’re letting some of our best players go and will struggle to even field a starting eleven and a bench, we have some very serious problems.

theRangers Women recently let their head coach Jo Potter depart for Crystal Palace, which would usually be a massive blow, but we don’t look like catching up anytime soon. Especially when you consider that theRangers haven’t lost many of their players at all and will certainly be ambitious enough to be chasing a treble in the upcoming season.

Celtic FC Women v theRangers, New Douglas Park, Sky Sports Cup semi-final. Sunday 19 January 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Elena Sadiku, Celtic FC Women v Motherwell, Celtic Park, Sunday 18 May 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Celtic though? I fear we’re going to have to aim to even be in the top six. Call me pessimistic, but the first few months are going to be incredibly important to our season, and also to Elena Sadiku in trying to keep her job.

The Celtic support is certainly not happy about all of this, just read the comments on the club’s social media account for Celtic FC Women on X, when they posted their second squad update of the summer with a second batch of first team regulars all leaving the club.

Jessica Elliott

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