Celtic are soaring this season. Although they recently suffered a humbling defeat in the recent Old Firm derby, they remain comfortably ahead in the race for the Scottish Premiership title.
The Hoops have also added to their trophy cabinet with a League Cup victory and are going strong in the Champions League, losing just one of their six league phase matches and securing memorable wins against RB Leipzig and Slovan Bratislava, leaving them in a play-off place.
Despite there appearing to be no immediate need for Brendan Rodgers to strengthen his team heading into the second half of the season, Celtic are reportedly interested in a number of players.
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2 ByRoss KilvingtonDec 31, 2024
Among those to be linked with a move to Parkhead are Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen, Chelsea’s Carney Chukwuemeka, and Ajax starlet Benjamin Tahirovic.
Kieran Tierney has also been tipped to make a sensational return to his boyhood club, five years after he left to join Arsenal.
As is generally always the case at any football club, arrivals mean there will inevitably be outgoings. Here, we have together a list of players who could realistically leave Celtic this month to make way for potential new additions.
1 Luis Palma Linked to: Olympiacos
Luis Palma arrived at Celtic Park in August 2023 for a fee of £3.5 million and enjoyed a solid first season with the Hoops, scoring six goals and providing nine assists in 24 games in the Scottish Premiership.
However, the Honduran winger has found minutes hard to come by this season, starting just once in the top flight.
According to La Prensa, per Sport Witness, Palma could seal a move away from Scotland in January, with Greek side Olympiacos and two unnamed MLS sides understood to be interested in his services.
Palma’s father, Enrique, also recently opened the door to a potential move away from Celtic for his son, telling Diario Diez in October: “He will be at Celtic right now and focus on the rest of the year and maybe there will be a sale, but what happens to him will depend on his work.”
2 Odin Thiago Holm Linked to: LAFC
Palma isn’t the only Celtic star being linked with a move to MLS.
According to Daily Mail reporter Stephen McGowan, Los Angeles FC are close to securing a loan deal for midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, who has played just 24 minutes of football for Rodgers’ side this season.
McGowan claims that LAFC initially wanted to sign Palma, but after they were unable to secure a deal, they were offered Holm instead. Having recently lost two loanee midfielders, they decided to accept.
The MLS’s transfer window is open for a lot longer than European leagues, with clubs often having until late April to do business.
3 Daniel Cummings Linked to: Bologna, Club Brugge, RB Salzburg
Striker Daniel Cummings is one of Celtic’s most promising young talents.
Cummings, 18, has scored 24 goals in 24 games for Celtic B this season, including 18 in 17 Lowland League appearances – a figure that makes him the division’s top scorer. Earlier this year, The Young Team, which scouts Scotland’s next top stars, described Cummings as “too good for the Lowland League” and praised him for his “great runs” and “spectacular strikes”.
However, according to Scottish journalist Anthony Joseph, the Hoops could soon lose him, with a report in December stating that Bologna, Club Brugge and RB Salzburg all sent officials to watch the striker in action in recent weeks ahead of a potential move.
Joseph reported that a number of English Premier League clubs are also monitoring the teenager, whose contract at Celtic runs out at the end of the season.
4 Stephen Welsh Linked to: KV Mechelen
Defender Stephen Welsh has struggled for regular game time at Celtic this season, managing just one start in both the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup – and it appears Rodgers is now ready to let him go.
According to a recent report by the Daily Record, Welsh, who is contracted with Celtic until the summer of 2027, is being chased by Belgian side KV Mechelen, who have already tabled a couple of offers.
The Hoops are now “ready” to sanction a loan move so that the 24-year-old can play regular football, claims the publication.
Whether Welsh wants to go to Belgium remains to be seen. Upon signing a new deal with Celtic in 2023, the defender, who came through the club’s academy, said that he wants to be at Parkhead for “another four years at least hopefully”.
5 Alexandro Bernabei Linked to: Internacional
Alexandro Bernabei never managed to cement himself at Celtic following his £3.75 million move from Argentinian side Lanus in 2022, but has impressed since moving to Internacional on loan in March 2024.
Since the move, the 24-year-old has made 25 appearances in Brazil, scoring three goals and producing five assists.
Internacional president Alessandro Barcellos recently confirmed in the past few weeks that negotiations are now taking place to make Bernabei’s move permanent, with Globo Esporte reporting previously that Celtic have even lowered their asking price for him from £8 million to £4.1 million to facilitate one.
However, the Hoops will apparently instead ask for a percentage of any future sale, claims Globo Esporte.
Bernabei himself is loving life with Inter, and recently said he hopes his good form for the club can see him called up to Argentina’s national team for the first time in the near future.
“We are an incredible team – World Cup holders and Copa America champions – so of course I know it will be incredibly difficult for me to be called up for the squad,” he said. “But nobody tells me that I can’t aim for that. I certainly hope with my recent form that it will be my turn soon.”
He added: “Here in Brazil I am playing every three days or so and that’s a real challenge and it is very demanding. But I am very happy with my form.”
