Celtic

The Scottish transfer window closes at 23:00 BST on Monday 1 September so there's still time for business to be done.

What do Celtic need to do before the window slams shut?

Have your say here

Rangers' winless Scottish Premiership start to the season continued in a spirited but goalless Old Firm stalemate with blunt Celtic.

Have your say on the game here.

Read the match report here.

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers told BBC Scotland: "Didn't think it was a good game at all. Positive for us, we've defended well in the main at the start of the season, been very resolute, which is a positive.

"We didn't have any shots on goal against us. But our offensive game is nowhere near the level I'd like it to be at. It was a game that lacked quality."

On why his team are struggling in their attacking play: "We've lost players that connected the game for us. When you go through a spell of games you're not scoring, it can affect the other guys and they don't quite make the forward pass and they make the safe pass.

"That creativity has come out the team and we need to find those connections again. I'm very confident we will improve. We have to. That's not the Celtic way of playing."

On dips of form for Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda: "Competition is your best coach at times, we need to find that. Sometimes you need that stimulus of competition. That's clearly what we need."

The Celtic boss had no update on the potential departure of Adam Idah.

Borussia Monchengladbach are challenging Celtic for the signing of Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg. (Rudy Galetti on X), external

Anderlecht want to bring in another striker before allowing Celtic target Kasper Dolberg to leave, with the Belgians bidding for Genoa's Vitinha. (Sky Sports), external

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The dates and times of Celtic's fixtures in the Europa League have been announced.

Braga are the first team to travel to Celtic Park on 2 October. Sturm Graz are next to visit on 23 October, with Roma following on 11 December.

The home games finish with Utrecht visiting Glasgow on 29 January.

Celtic's first away trip is to Crvena Zvezda on Wednesday 24 September, followed by FC Midtjylland, Feyenoord, and Bologna.

In full:

24 Sep - Crvena Zvezda (A) - 20:00 BST

2 Oct - Braga (H) - 17:45 BST

23 Oct - Sturm Graz (H) - 20:00 BST

6 Nov - FC Midtjylland (A) - 17:45 GMT

27 Nov - Feyenoord (A) - 17:45 GMT

11 Dec - Roma (H) - 20:00 GMT

22 Jan - Bologna (A) - 17:45 GMT

29 Jan - Utrecht (H) - 20:00 GMT

Former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov anticipates Sunday's Old Firm derby to be more of a "phycological" battle at Ibrox.

Listen: Sacked in the Morning with Petrov

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Aberdeen have completed the signing of Scotland youth international Mitchel Frame from Celtic for an undisclosed fee.

The 19-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Pittodrie after making just one solitary appearance for Celtic's first team.

Frame, who plays at left-back, came on for the last 15 minutes of Celtic's 2-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League group stage back in December 2023.

Most of his experience so far comes in the Lowland League, but he has also made numerous appearances for Scotland's under-17 and under-19 youth teams.

"We have been monitoring Mitchel's progress for some time, and we are very pleased we have eventually managed to sign him", said Dons boss Jimmy Thelin.

"He is a forward-thinking full back, with pace and physicality, and he fits well with how we want to play and what our expectations are of our full backs. His arrival will also give us more resilience and stability in that area of the pitch.

"He's an exciting talent and we look forward to working with him to help him release his future potential."

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Arne Engels believes he is up to the challenge of winning back his starting spot at Celtic.

The midfielder joined the Parkhead club last summer from Augsburg and scored 10 goals in 52 appearances for Brendan Rodgers' side.

But the Belgian has lost his place to this year's summer signing Benjamin Nygren, who has scored three goals in three Premiership appearances.

However, Engels is determined to regain his place in the team.

"I wanted to start more games, of course I wanted to play more," the 21-year-old said. "Every player here wants to play a lot of games and wants to play everything.

"It's now up to me to work myself back into the team and show what I can bring and what maybe they are missing. That's just up to me to now show it in training and show it when I'm coming on.

"If you're at a big club, then there will always be competition in every position. Of course we have a lot of good players here, but I don't need to be afraid of somebody here.

"I just need to work on myself, work on the things I need to improve and I'm sure I will bounce back and be back in the team.

"I've had those challenges already in the whole of my career. I know what I need to do to go back into the team and what I need to do to get better.

"So it's not something new I'm really stressing about. I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can bring to the team and I hope I can do that in the next games."

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Could the Scottish Premiership title be decided before August is out?

BBC Sport pundit Pat Nevin is suggesting that could be the case if champions Celtic beat Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.

Celtic are the only side with a 100% win record in the league, while new Rangers head coach Russell Martin has opened with three draws.

Both teams will be smarting from Champions League qualifying exits, with former Scotland winger Nevin calling defeats to Kairat and Club Brugge "totally, dreadfully, awfully disastrous".

Previewing the big game at the weekend for BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "It will be the usual. They will be flying at each other. The atmosphere will be phenomenal.

"And and it might even be a good game because they are probably better matched than they have been for a wee while.

"For Rangers, there is gigantic pressure. Certainly for Martin it's huge.

"Rangers have three points out of nine. To have three points out of 12, you almost think the league is over four games in.

"Maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it's a horrible thought, so Rangers will, or should, come out fighting."

On Rangers' heavy aggregate loss to Club Brugge, Nevin said "nine was probably kind", but he was equally scathing of Celtic's efforts against Kazakh opposition.

"Celtic fans and the manager will be absolutely devasted to miss out on the Champions League," he said.

"To go almost three hours against Kairat and not score is unthinkable.

"But they are lacking a lot of creativity in comparison with last season."

We asked for your views on Celtic facing Roma, Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht at home, and Feyenoord, Red Star Belgrade, Midtjylland and Bologna away in the league phase of the Europa League.

Here's what some of you said:

Kevin: Roma, Feyenoord and Bologna will all defeat Celtic - potentially heavily, - away from home, and Brendan Rodgers' side will be lucky to get two points at home against Sturm Graz and Braga.

Jackie: Celtic won't qualify from their group, more embarrassment to come. Rodgers needs to go now. The board are only interested in making money for themselves. They don't care about the club and care even less about the fans.

Peter: Highly unlikely to win a match with the squad we currently have. None of the recent signings have any pedigree. Still no proven goal scorer. No midfield ball-winner, the prospects are grim.

Steve: Based on last season, we can make the knockouts. That's if the board get a striker, winger and left-back in before the deadline. This board have rarely taken European football seriously and that often buckles us.

Thomas: After the qualifiers we've just witnessed, I don't think we can be confident ahead of any of these fixtures.

Michael: With the current squad, we'll be lucky to take five points out of that draw. Best to concentrate on the league and trying to build a squad, maybe with a new manager for next year.

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Rangers boss Russell Martin refused to confirm if midfielder Nicolas Raskin was in his squad following reports that the midfielder was left out of first-team training.

Celtic are set to hand a debut to Belgian winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Uruguayan left-back Marcelo Saracchi could potentially be involved if he is registered in time.

Anthony Ralston is expected to shake off a knock while Auston Trusty (foot), Alistair Johnston (hamstring) and Jota (knee) miss out. And there have been talks with Swansea over a potential move for Adam Idah.

Adam Idah completed a medical and agreed personal terms pending a £7m switch to Swansea City, but Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers demanded he return until a replacement is signed, with the Scottish champions in advancing in talks for Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg. (Sky Sports), external

Anderlecht are not in an advanced stage of talks with Celtic for Kasper Dolberg, with the Danish striker having not asked to leave the Belgian club, and although the Scottish are interested, so are Borussia Mönchengladbach. (Sacha Tavolieri on X), external

Anderlecht have told Celtic to increase their offer for Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg, with the Scottish champions prepared to pay about £8m to land the 27-year-old as a replacement for Swansea City target Adam Idah but yet to meet the Belgian club's asking price or the player's personal terms. (The Herald), external

Kasper Dolberg is close to joining Celtic for around £8m, with the Danish striker, signing a four-year contract as Anderlecht look to boost their finances after losing in Conference League qualifying. (Bold), external

Negotiations between Celtic and Anderlecht for Kasper Dolberg are said to be progressing well and there is a willingness from all parties to get a deal done for the Scottish champions' number one target. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Mainz have had two bids rejected for Sturm Graz striker William Boving, but reports of Celtic interest are wide of the mark, with the Scottish champions targeting Kasper Dolberg but without yet matching Anderlecht's valuation. (Mark Hendry on X), external

As Celtic move closer to securing Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg, the Scottish champions also showed an interest in Romania forward Louis Munteanu, but the Cluj 21-year-old prefers a move to La Liga. (TeamTalk), external

Celtic have made a second offer worth £4.7m - an initial fee of £3.9m with £800,000 in add-ons - for 23-year-old winger Sebastian Tounekti, with Hammarby having rejected an opening bid of £2.6m earlier this week and demanding £5m. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Celtic have tabled a new improved £4m bid for Sebastian Tounekti, with Hammarby having rejected a £3m offer earlier this week and the Swedish club reluctant to sell the Tunisian who only arrived from Haugesund earlier this year. (Daily Record), external

Birmingham City have offered about £1.5m for 23-year-old Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Frustrated Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has not closed the door on leaving the Scottish champions in the near future amid links with a potential switch to Nottingham Forest. (Football Insider), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Manager Brendan Rodgers insists there will be no outgoings at Celtic until the club have replacements in place.

English Championship outfit Swansea City are closing in on a deal for Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah.

But with Celtic yet to replace Kyogo Furuhashi, who left in January, Rodgers isn't keen to let another forward leave without getting a replacement in.

"There's interest in Adam but, obviously, no one can leave here unless we get players in to replace," he said.

"It's as simple as that. There's been negotiations and chatter around it, but I have to have players in here before I can consider letting anyone go.

"I just think it's logical and it's common sense. We're really light in that area of the field.

"And I'm pretty sure there would be a number of clubs that would want some of our players, but there's absolutely no way we can move anyone out unless we have absolute guarantees that there's going to be people to come in to replace."

There is also reported interest in winger Yang Hyun-jun from Birmingham City, but with Jota out injured and Nicolas Kuhn having departed for Como this summer, Rodgers isn't in a rush to lose the winger.

"It's been ongoing for Yang for a little while," he added.

"I understand that when you're a player that's probably been mostly used as a squad player over a couple of years, there comes a point in time and then you maybe want to move on and play.

"But I've been unable to do that because we've needed Yang here. I also know that if he does stay, he has a contribution to make because we need five, six wingers because of the number of games we play, the intensity that we want to play.

"But there has been interest in him. Yet again, I repeat, I can't really do anything unless we have players in."

Celtic signed Belgian winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha from Antwerp on Thursday and have now confirmed Uruguayan left-back Marcelo Saracchi on loan from Boca Juniors.

The club did not add the attacking reinforcements Rodgers craved before the calamitous Champions League play-off defeat to Kairat Almaty, and he has warned the board a change in transfer approach is needed.

"We need to find the solutions as to why we weren't able to strengthen before the games, when clearly we wanted to," Rodgers said.

"We need that in-depth look at that because we can't be in this cycle where we're growing for a couple of years, we get to Bayern Munich, we show great signs and then we stand still. We can't do that."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to face Rangers in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Here are the main points:

• With Swansea having agreed a fee with Celtic for Adam Idah, and Birmingham reportedly in for Yang Hyun-jun, Rodgers says there is "absolutely no way" players can leave unless there are "absolute guarantees" that replacements will be signed.

• Rodgers confirms Boca Juniors left-back Marcelo Saracchi is "in the building" and expects the deal to be "signed off within a matter of hours".

• Rodgers wouldn't be drawn on links to Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg but says he thinks the club will be "pretty busy and active over the coming days" and he seeks more signings "to give us that real depth".

• The Celtic boss says rumours of an internal disconnect at the club "couldn't be further from the truth" and the board of directors "bleed for this club".

• He stresses the Celtic "will invest" but says the club "need to be better" when it comes to the timing of signings.

• On new arrival Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Rodgers says the winger has "the skill to play for Celtic" and is "ready-made to play if needed" in Sunday's derby.

• While Rodgers is "bitterly disappointed" not to be in the Champions League, the club are "excited" by the Europa League draw.

• Looking ahead to Rangers, Rodgers insists "there's no greater game to come back to" after Celtic's Champions League exit.

• He is "pretty sure" Russell Martin "will do really well" as Rangers boss and is expecting a tough game at the weekend.

Image source, Getty

Celtic have learned their Europa League opponents.

Brendan Rodgers' side will face Roma, Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht at home, with away trips to Feyenoord, Red Star Belgrade, Midtjylland and Bologna in the league phase of the competition.

Fixture details will be confirmed by Uefa this weekend.

Having lost to Kairat Alamty in the Champions League play-off, Celtic are in the Europa League for the first time since season 2021-22.

What do you make of the draw? Can Rodgers' team at least make the play-off rounds?

Share your views here.