Martin O’Neill has stressed that he urgently needs new recruits who are ready to go straight into his first team after Celtic’s attempt at persuading Kyogo Furuhashi to return on loan failed.
Parkhead chiefs submitted an offer to take the striker back from Birmingham City until the summer and were optimistic that a deal could be struck to benefit all parties.
But the Japanese, who lit up Celtic Park between 2021 and 2025 before initially moving to Rennes last January, ultimately decided to remain in the Midlands and fight for his place.
O’Neill’s second interim spell of the season now gets under way against Dundee United this afternoon, with Celtic yet to sign a player so far this month.
Stressing the fact that he badly needs ready-made reinforcements, the Northern Irishman made it clear that the clock is ticking.
‘I need players, if we can, who are ready to go. I need players to be ready,’ said the 73-year-old manager.
Martin O’Neill insists he needs players this January who can make an immediate impact
The Northern Irishman has much to ponder ahead of Saturday’s visit of Dundee United
‘My job is to aim for that. I am selfish, I need people in to go now. I am going for both – quantity and quality.
‘Number one, you want someone to help the squad. That’s a given.
‘If I was given some sort of assurance that something would happen in 10 days, I might wait for that.
‘But I can’t wait forever. We have three weeks and a lot of games between now and then. I do accept this is a difficult time and it’s not ideal, but we do need something.’
The move to bring Furuhashi back on a temporary basis looks to be dead, with both the player and his parent club reluctant to bite on Celtic’s proposal.
‘We enquired at the possibility and I think he wants to stay,’ added O’Neill.
‘I think Birmingham want to keep him as well. That was the news that I’d heard.
‘I haven’t spoken to him, but he’s not actually our player. I suppose, in this day and age, that doesn’t seem to matter much.
‘I think for us, we need to move because, come February 2, that’s it (the transfer window) all over. Whatever you have, you have. We need some players and obviously the positions you talk about.’
Celtic look to have failed in attempt to bring Kyogo Furuhashi back on loan from Birmingham
Martin O’Neill keeps an eye on his players during a training session at Lennoxtown
As things stand, O’Neill will choose between Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamaha up front for the visit of the Tannadice men.
Asked if a striker was the priority in this window, he said: ‘Oh, we definitely need somebody.
‘That would be significant for us. You have to push on with other things and, surely to heavens, hopefully there are players out there that can help us along for the next few months at least.’
Celtic had been working on a deal for Jocelin Ta Bi in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen whether it will be pursued.
The 20-year-old Ivorian winger has been on loan at Israeli club Hapoel Petah Tikva from parent club Maccabi Netanya.
Celtic’s rollercoaster season hasn’t been helped by injuries to key players including Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston. O’Neill is optimistic, however, that both Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi will soon be back in contention.
‘It shouldn’t be too long now for both of them,’ he revealed. ‘They’ve been on the grass. They are training on their own now. They are not too far away.’
A return for Jota, out since last April with a crucial ligament injury, remains some way off, though. ‘Funnily enough, I was actually speaking to him at lunchtime there,’ said O’Neill. ‘He’s still a fair distance away.’
