Alongside Oh: Rodgers must cash in on 8.6k-p/w Celtic player
Alongside Oh: Rodgers must cash in on 8.6k-p/w Celtic player
The summer transfer window officially opened for business on Friday and Celtic could decide to part ways with some of their players before it slams shut at the end of August.
Central midfielder Matt O'Riley has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle United keen, and a £30m price tag has been reported.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops are willing to cash in on the Danish magician or if any club are prepared to pay the £30m touted.
One player who could be on their way out of Parkhead, however, is centre-forward Hyeon-gyu Oh, as KRC Genk have reportedly made an offer of £4m and the attacker is keen to make the switch.
As well as the South Korea international, Brendan Rodgers must brutally ditch central defender Stephen Welsh, amid reported interest in his signature.
Clubs eyeing up swoop for Stephen Welsh
It was recently reported by Football Scotland that the rarely-used central defender is attracting attention from clubs in the MLS this summer.
However, the outlet did not name any of the interested sides and did not reveal how much the Hoops would demand for the Scottish academy graduate ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
He could now become Patryk Klimala 2.0 as the Polish striker was another dud they managed to cash in on for decent money to the North American division.
After a poor return of just three goals and one assist in 28 first-team appearances for Celtic as a striker, the Scottish giants sold him to New York Red Bulls for a staggering fee of £3.5m in 2021.
It was a sizeable fee for the Hoops to receive when you consider that the young forward had struggled so badly in front of goal, and they could now look to repeat that trick by selling Welsh to an MLS side this summer.
Why Celtic should cash in on Stephen Welsh
Rodgers must ruthlessly ditch the £8.6k-per-week dud from his squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign by pushing him to complete a move to America, or elsewhere if interest from other clubs emerges.
Welsh should be sold alongside Oh after his disappointing performances on the pitch for the club in the Scottish Premiership this season for Celtic.
As you can see in the table above, the Bhoys failed to keep a single clean sheet in his ten appearances in the division, as he struggled badly on the defensive end.
The 24-year-old liability was dominated in physical duels on the deck, losing 62% of his battles, and gave away more penalties (one) than he completed tackles (zero) in 500 minutes of action.
This does not suggest that he has been good enough on the pitch for the manager as the team's defence has struggled, with zero clean sheets, in his time on the pitch and his statistics are incredibly lacklustre.
With the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, and Maik Nawrocki already at the club and Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham linked with a move to Parkhead, Rodgers may already be well-stocked enough at centre-back to allow Welsh to leave with no concerns over what it would do to his depth in that position.
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Therefore, the Northern Irish boss must make the Scottish defender Klimala 2.0 by selling the Celtic dud to the MLS before the window slams shut.