The summer transfer window is due to open for business later this month and it will give Celtic a chance to make changes to their playing squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Brendan Rodgers already knows that a priority position to target is a goalkeeper as Joe Hart played his final game for the club in the SFA Cup final last month.
The former England international kept a clean sheet as the Hoops beat their closest rivals 1-0 at Hampden Park, thanks to a late goal from Adam Idah, to ensure that he ended his career with the club on a high.
Hart decided to retire from professional football upon the expiry of his contract with the Scottish giants and this means that the Bhoys are now in the market to land a new number one to play between the sticks at Parkhead from next season onwards.
The 37-year-old star leaves big gloves to fill after a trophy-laden three years in Glasgow after his permanent move from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2021.
Joe Hart's Celtic career in numbers
The veteran titan won a whopping seven domestic trophies in his three seasons with the Hoops; including three Scottish Premiership titles, two League Cups, and two SFA Cups.
This means that Hart won the league title in all three of his years at Parkhead and ended his career with a perfect league record in Scotland.
In those Premiership campaigns, the English colossus kept 50 clean sheets in 109 appearances, with just 78 goals conceded in total in that time.
Appearances
37
Save success rate
68%
Saves made
61
Pass accuracy
88%
Clean sheets
14
Ground duel success rate
40%
As you can see in the table above, Hart enjoyed a solid 2023/24 campaign in the division with 14 clean sheets and a high pass accuracy in his 37 outings.
However, he did lose 60% of his ground duels throughout the campaign and made one error that directly led to a shot for the opposition, which does not suggest that it was a perfect season for the experienced ace.
The club could, potentially, swoop to bring in a player who does not make errors to help the opposition and is, also, more dominant in duels against attackers.
Celtic are now reportedly plotting a bid to sign his replacement in the upcoming summer transfer window, with a Premier League goalkeeper in their sights.
Celtic's planned swoop for Irish titan
According to Football Insider, Rodgers is preparing a £10m swoop to sign Liverpool shot-stopper Caoimhin Kelleher to replace Hart next season.
The report claims that the Bhoys are interested in a deal to sign the Ireland international from the Premier League side and are ready to put money on the table to do a deal.
However, Arne Slot's team are set to demand 'much' more for the talented ace this summer and the Scottish giants are not able to afford much more than the £10m touted.
The outlet states that Celtic have made signing a goalkeeper a priority for the upcoming summer transfer window as they look to replace Hart, with Kelleher seemingly one of their priority targets.
Football Insider adds that the Irish star wants to become a number one and could push to move from Anfield in order to fulfill that dream, as he is currently behind Brazil international Alisson in the pecking order on Merseyside.
If Celtic can convince Liverpool to drop their valuation down to £10m, or agree an initial loan deal perhaps, then they could boost their UEFA Champions League hopes for the new season.
They were knocked out of the group stages of the competition, finishing bottom of their group, this term, but will compete in the new version of the tournament in the 2024/25 campaign.
Next season's Champions League group stage will see the Hoops play eight games in the new league phase (formerly the group stage). They will play eight different teams, rather than three sides twice, and play half of the games at Parkhead and half of the matches away from Glasgow.
Teams will need to finish inside the top eight in the league to automatically qualify for the knock-outs, whilst teams from ninth to 24th will then compete in two-leg play-off games to make the last 16.
How signing Caoimhin Kelleher could improve UCL hopes
Celtic could improve their chances of avoiding another early exit from Europe by signing Kelleher as he could be a big upgrade on Hart in European competitions.
Firstly, the Irish star, who was hailed as "outstanding" by Jurgen Klopp, could help to prevent more goals through quality shot-stopping for the Hoops, which would then provide the team with a greater chance of being able to pick up points.
In ten European matches, across the Champions League and Europa League, Kelleher conceded 0.9 fewer goals than expected based on the post-shot xG of the efforts on his goal for Liverpool.
Meanwhile, in 19 European games for Celtic, Hart let in 6.5 more goals than expected based on the post-shot xG of the strikes on his goal in the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League.
These statistics show that the Reds ace can be a net positive when it comes to saving high-quality shots, whereas the Englishman let in far too many low-quality efforts that cost the team.
Kelleher could also be a big upgrade in Europe when it comes to commanding his penalty area to alleviate pressure off his defenders from crossing situations.
Appearances
10
Save percentage
72%
Goals prevented
0.40
Saves made
28
Duel success rate
100%
The 25-year-old gem stopped 9.6% of crosses into his box during the 2023/24 Europa League campaign, ranking within the top 16% of his positional peers.
Whereas, Hart did not collect a single cross in his six Champions League appearances during the group stage, ranking within the bottom 6% of goalkeepers in the tournament.
These statistics suggest that Celtic could fare much better in Europe with Kelleher between the sticks in comparison to Hart, due to his superior shot-stopping and his significantly better handling of crosses into the box.
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Therefore, Rodgers could boost the team's UCL hopes by securing a deal to sign the goalkeeper, who could help the team to concede fewer goals in the competition next term.
