Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers made several additions in the summer transfer window and Wilfried Nancy has been tasked with getting the best out of them.
The Northern Ireland manager made an 11-contract deal to strengthen his options across the pitch, and ultimately resigned after a 3-1 defeat to Hearts at the end of October.
Nancy will need to look to make the most of these contracts in the coming months and years, as many of them have not lived up to expectations so far this season.
Celtic’s summer signing rankings
This may say more about the rest of the work done in the summer, but Benjamin Nygren is the club’s best signing of the season, and according to Transfermarkt he is currently Celtic’s top scorer in all competitions with seven goals in 25 games.
Kieran Tierney, who joined on a free transfer, and Marcelo Saracchi, who joined on loan from Boca Juniors, have also been solidified in the left-back position, sharing the role.
Callum Osmund joined from Fulham after his contract with the English side expired and had scored one goal and earned a penalty in his three first-team appearances before his injury, suggesting he is an exciting talent to keep an eye on once he regains form.
Celtic’s summer signing rankings | |
|---|---|
rank | player |
1 | Benjamin Nygren |
2 | Kieran Tierney |
3 | Karam Osmand |
4 | Kelechi Iheanacho |
5 | Marcelo Saracchi |
6 | ross doohan |
7 | sebastian tunecuti |
8 | Jermai Simpson-Pucey |
9 | Hayato Inamura |
10 | Shin Yamada |
11 | Michelle-Ange Balikwisha |
Ross Doohan, who joined on a free transfer as the third-choice goalkeeper, is the most average addition to the team and is the player who separates the bad players from the good players in the above rankings.
In the bottom half of the rankings we have Sebastian Tunekuti, as he is starting to look like one of the biggest wastes since Albian Ajeti.
Why Sebastian Tunekti looks like a waste of money
The Tunisian international looked poised to become a star for the Hoops after creating four chances, completing five dribbles and scoring one goal in his first two games, according to Sofascore. Rodgers even claimed he was “exciting the crowd.”
Celtic paid £5.2 million to sign the forward from Hammarby, making it the most expensive signing of the summer, but just shy of the £6 million that puts him in the top 10 most expensive signings in the club’s history.
Unfortunately, three months later, Tunekti has registered two goals and zero assists in 18 competitive appearances for the Hoops, according to Transfermarkt, which shows he is struggling to make an impact at the top end of the pitch.
Since Celtic paid £5m for Ajeti (Transfermarkt), who scored just nine goals in 48 games as a striker, the Hoops have signed six players for more than £5m: Jota (twice), Cameron Carter-Vickers, Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Auston Trusty and Tunekuti.
Jota was sold for £25m before being re-signed, while Aydah was sold for £6m after scoring 20 goals in all competitions last season, so it’s clear it wasn’t a complete waste of money.
Of course, Carter-Vickers has been a regular starter for the club for a long time, and Transfermarkt reports that Auston Trusty is now firmly established as a regular starter after playing in 50 games.
Engels, signed for £11 million from Augsburg, has been quite effective at the top end of the pitch, according to Transfermarkt, having scored 12 goals and provided 17 assists in 76 appearances since the start of last season.
This shows that since Ajeti’s failure at Parkhead, the other five most expensive signings have either been successful or, even if they haven’t worked out completely, added a lot to his time at Celtic.
However, Tunekuti has scored just one goal and provided no assists in his last 16 appearances for Celtic, and although he was the first substitute to come on in Sunday’s 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Hearts, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to start regularly under the new manager.
Worse than Jan: Nancy has to bin 3/10 a Celtic dud who once had “X-Factor”
The Celtic star with the ‘X-factor’ should be mercifully left out of the starting XI on Thursday.
For a player signed for £5.2m, he hasn’t shown enough quality at the top end of the pitch to make it worth signing. That’s why Ajeti now looks like one of the biggest wasters since he flopped at the club with nine goals in 48 games.
