Celtic’s summer transfer shortfall laid bare by remarkable SPFL recruitment table

Celtic went into their Champions League play-off against LASK having made fewer summer signings than any other club in the SPFL.

Research covering all 42 clubs shows Martin O'Neill had added just four new players who had featured competitively by the cut-off point of August 24.

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Camilo Duran, Kasper Høgh, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur were Celtic's only qualifying arrivals, leaving them bottom of the Scottish football recruitment table.

Even League Two side The Spartans had brought in five, while every other club across the Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two had surpassed Celtic's total.

The contrast was particularly striking in the top flight. Hibernian had recruited six players and Dundee seven, while Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts and Rangers had all reached double figures. Falkirk led the way with 15.

It was not a question of Celtic refusing to spend. Their four additions reportedly cost around £32.8million combined, but the bulk of that investment strengthened attacking areas, with two strikers, a winger and midfielder arriving.

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Other gaps remained unresolved when Celtic faced LASK.

O'Neill had already acknowledged his desire for defensive reinforcements, while Kieran Tierney remained without an established alternative at left-back.

The midfield was also weakened by Arne Engels' £22million departure to West Ham before Champions League qualification had been secured. O'Neill admitted replacing the Belgian's energy would be difficult, while Chris Sutton questioned the timing of his sale ahead of the LASK tie.

Celtic still have until September 3 to reshape their squad, but the priority has now changed.

The expectation was never for Celtic to match Falkirk's 15 arrivals. It was to ensure O'Neill had a sufficiently balanced squad for the defining European games of the summer.

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