Celtic

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Celtic finished their pre-season preparations with a 5-3 win on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Asian Champions League winners Al-Ahli in the Como Cup third/fourth play-off.

The Scottish champions had been humbled 5-1 in their semi-final by Ajax, while the side who finished fifth in Saudi Arabia's Pro League lost 3-1 to the pre-season tournament's Italian hosts.

Having put Celtic's second-half collapse against the Dutch down to fatigue of pre-season training, manager Brendan Rodgers named a completely fresh starting XI.

Al-Ahli took the lead after 23 minutes through former Porto and Braga winger Galeno's acrobatic hitch-kick from 12 yards.

Celtic levelled when Luke McCowan's corner to the back post was volleyed back into the six-yard box by James Forrest and centre-half Auston Trusty prodded home.

New striker signing Shin Yamada thought he had scored the winner after making his first Celtic appearance as a substitute but was ruled offside.

McCowan came close to a winner three minutes from time, but his strike came off a post and the match went into a shoot-out in which the Glasgow side prevailed, with Yamada scoring the deciding spot kick.

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Kwon Hyeok-kyu has joined Ligue 1 Nantes on a permanent deal as he departs Celtic without having made a first-team appearance in his two-year spell.

The South Korean midfielder, 24, joined Celtic from Busan IPark in his homeland and spent time on loan with fellow Premiership sides St Mirren and Hibernian.

The 24-year-old has signed a three-year deal with Nantes.

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On 25 July 1997 Celtic signed striker Henrik Larsson from Dutch side Feyenoord with little knowledge of just how monumental an impact the Swede would have.

Larsson followed manager Wim Jansen to Glasgow as Celtic were preparing try to stop Rangers from winning a 10th successive title.

And the Sweden striker helped his side do just that. Despite not getting off to the best start - including scoring an own goal in his first European outing - Larsson went on to score 19 goals in his debut season in Glasgow and inspire Celtic to their first league title in a decade.

Larsson would go on to make over 300 appearances in the hoops, scoring 242 goals - including 15 against Rangers. He was a driving force in Celtic's run to the Uefa Cup final in 2003, two years after helping them to a domestic treble, and won four league titles, two League Cups and two Scottish Cups before joining Barcelona.

When that departure finally came in 2004, it was clear Larsson had cemented himself as a Celtic legend.

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Celtic defender Adam Montgomery has joined fellow Premiership side Livingston on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old moves to the newly-promoted Lions having spent last term with Championship outfit Queen's Park, playing 14 games and scoring once.

Montgomery has made 20 appearances for Celtic but hasn't featured since December 2021, with a raft subsequent loan spells including Aberdeen and St Johnstone.

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We asked for your views on the 5-1 Como Cup defeat against Ajax in Celtic's penultimate pre-season friendly.

Here's what some of you said:

Liam: The same fans that got overly excited about us beating Newcastle will now be unhappy about this defeat. They're friendly matches and it's about fitness, but also these games told us very little that we don't know. Adam Idah is a disappointment and unless we do something about it we'll fall short in several games this season. At the back we know the issues.

Anthony: Often too much emphasis is put on pre-season results. It's clear the first team is working well and playing some good football but we lack serious depth and there are still questions to be asked up top and at centre-back. These next two weeks to start the league and transfer market will be huge in determining our season.

Lewis: The quicker Celtic get back to playing domestic football the better as they have shown cheap buys just can't do it. Let's not be fooled, this is Scottish football and it's bleak.

Ted: Hopefully they learn the lesson about keeping the ball and stop playing the ball in your own box.

Kevin: No concerns on the domestic front. The European stage is a different story. We need a reliable striker and we simply don't have one any more, the board's tight-fisted approach will, as usual, come back to bite them. No ambition spells failure!

Joe: This squad overall is fragile and I'm really concerned now about the lack of quality signings where we need to strengthen. 'Project' signings are not what we need right now, for the domestic challenge or Champions League qualification. Remember, we're not there yet.

Celtic need to show ambition in the transfer market, believes manager Brendan Rodgers. (Sun), external

Red tape denied forward Shin Yamada, 25, the possibility of a Celtic debut in Thursday's friendly defeat by Ajax in Italy. (Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

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Celtic can still take "lots of positives" out of their friendly with Ajax despite losing 5-1, says Brendan Rodgers, although the manager stressed it is "also a reminder of the work we still have to do".

The match in Italy was the semi-final of the Como Cup and Celtic will now face Asian Champions League winners Al-Ahli in a third-fourth play-off on Saturday.

"I don't think it was a 5-1 game," Rodgers told Celtic TV. "For the first 60 minutes of the game, we were very good and the third goal we gave away.

"But we had lots of really good moments - scored one but should have had more.

"The goal we scored was very, very good - then, I felt, in the last 30 minutes of the game, we gave the ball away far too easily and we lost out in too many duels."

Rodgers suggested that fatigue from pre-season training had played its part as the Dutch side rattled in three goals in the final 30 minutes.

"So we can see the players are working very hard and they're getting leggy in some of the games because we are pushing them in training," he said.

"Sometimes you get that and then the two goals right at the end are disappointing because they're shots from outside the box that we should do better with.

"But, overall, lots of positives from it but also a reminder of the work we still have to do."

Al-Ahli, instead of hosts Como, will now be Celtic's final pre-season opponents before they begin their defence of the Scottish title.

"They have quality players - players who are individually very good," Rodgers said of the Saudi Arabian side. "They spent a lot of money on top players, so that will be a very good game.

"That's why we came out. No matter how it turned out, we were going to get two really good games."

Celtic fans, are you concerned by the result with the Scottish Premiership kick-off just over a week away? Tell us your views.

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Celtic suffered a humbling 5-1 defeat by Ajax in their Como Cup semi-final in Italy.

Brendan Rodgers' side were looking to build on wins over Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United but now will face Asian Champions League winners Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia on Saturday in their final pre-season game rather than the tournament hosts.

Netherlands winger Steven Berghuis' superb curled finish put the Dutch side ahead after 17 minutes at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

Yang Hyun-Jun, who had hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, equalised four minutes later when the South Korean winger latched on to Reo Hatate's through ball after Kieran Tierney's long pass had opened up the Ajax defence.

Adam Idah was also denied by the woodwork near the end of a first half in which Celtic dominated possession.

However, the flow of the game changed after the break and Netherlands midfielder Davy Klaassen restored the lead just short of the hour mark, volleying home after goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel parried a shot off the line.

Ajax pounced on a slack Benjamin Nygren pass inside Celtic's penalty box and Berghuis found the top corner for his second after 66 minutes.

Aaron Bouwman increased the lead when the 17-year-old defender swept a stunning 25-yard drive into the top corner past Schmeichel with 20 minutes remaining before 19-year-old midfielder Rayane Bounida curled another beauty inside the far post.

The defeat means there will be no swift reunion with winger Nicolas Kuhn, who watched from the stand following his recent move to Como, who now face Ajax in the final.

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Brendan Rodgers is "very confident" Celtic will strengthen and fill "gaps" before the transfer window closes.

The Celtic manager is aware the club "still have work to do" after bringing in seven new players this summer, including Kieran Tierney and Benjamin Nygren.

Previewing Celtic's opening Como Cup game against Ajax tonight, Rodgers admitted he was pleased with the business done so far this window but the club "can't stand still".

"I think we still have some work to do," Rodgers said.

"I think the players that we have in the building have been very, very good in pre-season so far, but like I say, we have still work to do in the market.

"I think it's very clear where our gaps are - in our front line, where we need support and I'm very confident that we'll be able to do that before the market finishes."

Despite storming to the Scottish Premiership title and picking up the League Cup earlier in the campaign, Celtic missed out on the treble as Aberdeen lifted the Scottish Cup after a penalty shootout and "only" won two trophies, which to Rodgers, doesn't prove "domination".

"As a football club, we aim to improve every single season," he added.

"We didn't dominate last year, we only won two out of three trophies.

"But also being in Europe and making sure we are competitive and challenging at that level is very important for us, consistently, not just for one season.

"We believe we can be even better this season on the domestic front and we can take the experiences we've had over these last couple of seasons into Europe where we aim to again look to perform very, very well.

"Celtic is a huge club. You can never stand still. It's always moving at a really, really fast speed."

Go Ahead Eagles sporting director Jan Willem van Dop says Jakob Breum will not be sold for less than £5.2m after it was reported that Celtic had a £1.5m offer rejected for the 21-year-old winger. (Record), external

Brendan Rodgers insists he is fully responsible for every single signing Celtic make as the manager shot down suggestions players have been targeted without his say-so. (Sun), external

Celtic are trying to sign a striker and a winger. (Football Insider), external

Kwon Hyeok-kyu, who spent last season on loan to Hibernian, is undergoing a medical before a proposed permanent transfer to Nantes from Celtic, with the 24-year-old South Korean midfielder committing to a three-year contract. (Ouest-France), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Nearly 10 years on from that disappointing November night in the Europa League, Celtic meet Ajax again.

Brendan Rodgers' side will face the Dutch giants in their first game of the pre-season tournament, the Como Cup, in Italy on Thursday.

The result this time round has much less significance than it did back in 2015.

Then managed by Ronny Deila, Celtic needed a victory in Glasgow to keep their hopes of reaching the last 32 of the Europa League alive.

A fresh-faced Callum McGregor gave the hosts the ideal start, firing them ahead after three minutes, but Arkadiusz Milik acrobatically equalised before half-time.

Backed by a rowdy support, Deila's side pushed for a winner, but Vaclav Cerny - who spent last season on loan at Rangers - netted late on to send Celtic tumbling out of Europe.

Meetings with Ajax are typically fiery, and this one was no different.

In the reverse tie, Celtic were 2-1 up in Amsterdam but had to settle for a draw after conceding late on, with Emilio Izaguirre sent off.

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The two heavyweights met two years before, too, in the Champions League and though Ajax triumphed 1-0 on home soil, Celtic held on for an impressive and deserved 2-1 victory in Glasgow, despite Nir Bitton's red card, with Beram Kayal scoring what proved to be the winner.

Four meetings in two years came after 12 years of wait. The pair faced off in the third round of Champions League qualifying in 2001 and Celtic prevailed thanks to an outstanding 3-1 first-leg win in Amsterdam courtesy of goals from Bobby Petta, Didier Agathe and Chris Sutton.

Ajax manager Co Adriaanse admitted his side were "outclassed" on their own patch and although the Dutch won 1-0 at Parkhead, Celtic advanced to the group stages for the first time.

Go Ahead Eagles have rejected a £1.5m offer from Celtic for Danish winger Jakob Breum, with the 21-year-old valued by the Dutch club at £5m. (The Herald), external

Celtic are set to up the ante to try to finally seal the transfer of Royal Antwerp winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha despite the clubs being unable to agree a fee after talks over multiple weeks and the 24-year-old's agent saying there had been no discussions with the Scottish champions. (Daily Record), external

Rennes have been revealed as the French club who have stolen a march on Celtic in the chase for Cluj striker Louis Munteanu, with French media claiming a fee of just under £10.5m has been agreed for the 23-year-old. (Foot Sur 7 via Daily Record), external

Cluj head coach Dan Petrescu has revealed he will hold talks with Louis Munteanu to see if the striker is ready to play in Europa League qualifying on Thursday amid interest from Celtic and clubs in France. (The National), external

Livingston are poised beat English and Scottish interest to the signature of 23-year-old Celtic left-back Adam Montgomery on loan. (Daily Record), external

Celtic are accelerating moves to bring in a central midfielder and a centre-back this summer. (Football Insider), external

In addition to reported interest in Celtic midfielder Kyle Ure, 19, Partick Thistle want to sign 20-year-old goalkeeper Josh Clarke on loan from the Scottish champions. (Glasgow Times), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Le Havre president Jean-Michel Roussier has told Paris Normandie that their asking price for Etienne Youte could drop as the centre-back enters the final year of his contract, with reports in France suggesting Celtic have joined Anderlecht and Besiktas in the race to land the £4.3m-rated 23-year-old. (Paris Normandie via Daily Record), external

Everton have met Red Star Belgrade's valuation of Veljko Milosavljevic after Celtic had an offer of £5.2m for the 17-year-old centre-half flatly rejected. (MaxBet Sport), external

After reports in Belgium had suggested Michel-Ange Balikwisha was close to joining Celtic, the 24-year-old's agent says no talks have taken place, although the Royal Antwerp winger is not against the idea should the Scottish champions make an approach. (Daily Record), external

Partick Thistle want to take Celtic midfielder Kyle Ure on loan and the Scottish champions think the 19-year-old would benefit from first-team action and are looking at his options. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Winger Luis Palma has joined Polish champions Lech Poznan on a season-long loan from Celtic.

Honduras international Palma, 25, joined the Scottish champions on a five-year deal in 2023 but made just 12 appearances for Brendan Rodgers' side in the first of last season before spending the rest of it on loan at Olympiacos.

He struggled for game time given the form of Nicolas Kuhn, who has since departed for Como, and was pushed further down the pecking order by the return of Jota - who took the number seven jersey when his move to Greece was confirmed.

Poznan won their ninth Ekstraklasa title last season and have the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie against Breiðablik tomorrow (Tuesday, 22 July).

"I'm very happy to be here because Lech is a great club," Palma told the club's website.

"I really want to work hard and give my best. Above all, I'm here because of the goals and challenges my new club sets for itself - I want to help achieve them.

"Of course, I came to share the experience I have from playing at Champions League level. I'm hoping for a successful campaign.

"I don't know Poland, but I really like the city."

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Saturday's comfortable victory over Premier League giants Newcastle United means Celtic "back ourselves even more" insists defender Auston Trusty.

Brendan Rodgers' side fired four by Newcastle at Celtic Park in their latest pre-season friendly and USA international Trusty believes such a statement victory will help his new team-mates understand the club's mentality.

"I think it's actually more important for the guys coming in to see what we're about," Trusty told club media.

"A lot of times outside, looking at a team like Newcastle, you can picture it any kind of way you want, but for the guys coming in to see and for us to show them that we back ourselves against any team in the world, any top team in the world, it hopefully gives them a lot of confidence and shows where we are at mentally."

Trusty helped the Scottish champions keep a clean sheet and admitted he was "impressed" by his side's performance.

"It was good, obviously a good team and collective effort," he added.

"I think 4-0 against a good side like this, I'm pretty impressed. It also shows where we are as a team right now and also the mentality we have.

"It took us a little bit to get into the game and find the rhythm and figure out what they were doing, but once we figured it out, we had a lot of success and we propelled on from there."

Marco Tilio to Rapid Vienna from Celtic is a done deal, with a loan fee of £350,000 and an obligation to buy of £1.3m being triggered for the 23-year-old winger, who spent last season on loan to Melbourne City, after 20 competitive starts. (Sky Sports), external

Celtic winger Luis Palma has been seen arriving in Poland after the 25-year-old Honduras international agreed a season-long loan deal to join Lech Poznan despite interest from the Championship, Turkish Super League and Major League Soccer. (Glasgow Times), external

Luis Palma insists it was his decision to quit Celtic to join Polish club Lech Poznan and he could even be handed his debut in their Champions League qualifier against Iceland's Breidablik on Tuesday. (Scottish Sun), external

Royal Antwerp head coach Stef Wils admits it is "possible" that 24-year-old winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha will leave the club soon amid interest from Celtic. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Manager Brendan Rodgers is still keen to add more attacking firepower to his Celtic squad after the signing of Japan striker Shin Yamada.

Speaking following his side's impressive four-goal pre-season win over Newcastle, the Parkhead boss said: "I think it's bringing goals to the squad. Especially when you score four goals, it seems like you're okay.

"But we lost an important player in Kyogo [Furuhashi] in January. He brought us a lot of goals. We lost Nicolas Kuhn. He brought us a lot of goals. Matt O'Riley even last summer.

"So even though we scored a lot of goals last season, we still want more. And our ambition is to have more. So I think all across the front areas, we have to be active in order to give us that depth we need."

Yamada has arrived from Kawasaki Frontale, where he scored 32 goals in 121 appearances, on a four-year contract.

The 25-year-old recently won his first international cap and joins compatriots Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Inamura at Celtic Park.

On his arrival, Rodgers said: "His profile suits how we play. He's one of the quickest players from the Japanese league. He's deemed quicker than Daizen [Maeda] and Kyogo in terms of statistics.

"And that's how we play. We have speed on the top line. He'll give us that depth as well."

Celtic have Champions League play-offs to navigate in the second half of August, but Rodgers is prepared to be patient for further signings.

"Any coach would love to have them in on the first day of pre-season," he said.

"But as long as they're here by the end of August, and obviously in some areas we would like them sooner, we'll be able to see the squad we have and take it from there."

Celtic swept Newcastle aside thanks to an Arne Engels penalty, Johnny Kenny's easy finish after a mistake from goalkeeper Nick Pope, a goal from Yang Hyun-jun on the counter-attack, and Liam Scales' header.

Rodgers, whose side beat Sporting Lisbon 2-0 in midweek, added: "It was an excellent exercise. We had a really tough 10 days over in Portugal and played a really good game on Wednesday night.

"So, just a continuation. The guys are looking strong, getting better. And, obviously, our tactical idea against a top team, you're looking to play with that authority and creativity. And it was really good."

Celtic and Honduras winger Luis Palma will arrive in Poland today to complete a loan move to Legia Warsaw. (Tomasz Wlodarczyk on X), external

Rapid Vienna are keen on Celtic winger Marco Tilio, who has spent the past 18 months on loan at Melbourne City. (Daily Record), external

Despite no progress in Celtic negotiating a new contract with forward Daizen Maeda, manager Brendan Rodgers is confident it will not affect the Japan forward's season. (Scottish Sun), external

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