From Brendan Rodgers’ own admission, Celtic have a bloated a squad that needs trimming during the winter transfer window. The Hoops will be cutting the wage bill to leave the manager with a competitive squad. After all, the Parkhead side must be aiming for a third consecutive domestic treble this time out.
Celtic currently sit at the summit of the Scottish Premiership table, thanks to a superior goal difference. Rodgers’ side is level on points with Heart of Midlothian albeit with a game in hand. The Bhoys are third in their Europa League group as well but are level on points with second-placed RB Leipzig.
The Glasgow club will be hoping they can make their run deep into the competition. With that in mind, here are two players that Celtic must offload this January;
The 31-year-old midfielder has a year left on his contract. Jonny Hayes is entering the back end of his career and has struggled for minutes this season. The veteran has only managed two Premiership appearances this term with an assist to his name in the 135 minutes of football he has clocked so far.
Having failed to break into the starting line-up regularly, the club should look to offload him this January. The Glasgow club signed him from Aberdeen in the summer of 2017 but Hayes’ Celtic career never took off.
The former Ireland international has a goal and three assists in 23 appearances for the Bhoys. Compared to his 30 goals and 71 assists in 207 matches for Aberdeen along with 25 goals and 36 assists in 101 matches for Inverness, Hayes has been a disappointing signing for Celtic.
It is safe to say that the veteran defender is surplus to requirements at Parkhead. At 33, the former Germany international is past his peak years.
He joined Celtic from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in January but a spell on the sidelines has seen him manage a meagre 83 minutes of football.
Read More: Two strikers Celtic should target in January – including this 7-goal Serbian powerhouse
A combination of lack of fitness and form has limited his involvement at Celtic. The experienced defender, who clocked over 15,000 minutes of Bundesliga action, is yet a single appearance in the Premiership this season. As puzzling as his signing might have been, Compper should leave the club next January exactly a year since he signed.
