As the transfer window closed last night the only disappointment from the past few months could be the lack of a new centre-half.

Under Brendan Rodgers we’ve seen numerous players individual game’s improve significantly. One such player to vastly progress, especially since the turn of the year, is Dedryck Boyata. A centre half pairing of Boyata and Simunovic is certainly not something to be dismissed, but the trouble is that all three senior centre halves (the aforementioned alongside Erik Sviatchenko) are susceptible to injuries.

In Rivaldo Coetzee we appeared to have identified our new recruit at the back, however once an injury was discovered during his medical Celtic pulled the plug. Coetzee has since, perhaps surprisingly, transferred to another club, with Ajax Cape Town throwing in a little dig at Celtic regarding their withdrawal from the transfer. 

A medical is there to identify the health of a player in all aspects, as we know from history the requirements can vary from club to club and player to player, just ask John Hartson. 

In the case of Coetzee he may feel aggrieved at not successfully completing his move to Celtic, and consider himself fit enough to play, as his new club clearly does, however with a history of injuries to all our senior defenders, withdrawing from the deal was probably the correct decision once the pre-existing condition was identified.

In midfield we’ve added real quality and potential in Olivier Ntcham.

Johnny Hayes provides back-up on either wing in place of Gary Mackay-Steven. In GMS’ time at the club, and in Hayes’ early appearances, their biggest enemies appear to be themselves when it comes to pulling on the Celtic shirt. Once Hayes believes in himself on the park he will start to show the form and ability that we saw for years at Aberdeen. He knows that he’s likely to be used as a substitute for most of the season, but if he can find his feet at the club he will be able to offer something different to our other wingers, particularly with his direct running style and ability to deliver a cross. 

Another player unlikely to see much game time arrived in the form of Kundai Benyu, a talented youngster who may eventually have to go out on loan to gain first team experience. Rodgers, however, saw enough ability in Benyu throughout the summer to keep him at the club in the short term, and it will be interesting to witness his development over the coming months.

To everyone’s delight Paddy Roberts finally returned to Celtic this week. We all know what Paddy is capable of and his return to means that all first team players have been retained from last year’s invincible squad, with possible departee Stuart Armstrong extending his contract by a year.

Our last arrival came on deadline day; Odsonne Edouard signing on a season long loan from Champions League rivals PSG. Whilst a week ago I was entirely oblivious to the name Odsonne Edouard, this signing could turn out to be a fantastic piece of business. Celtic have already agreed on a record breaking transfer fee in order to make the signing permanent should Edouard impress. As has been widely reported, the young forward was a winner of the 2015 Euro youth championships with France, scoring a hattrick in the final against Germany on his way to being awarded the golden ball crowning him as the best player, as well as receiving the golden boot as the top goalscorer.

With three of France’s most promising youth internationals in our squad at the moment we have certainly acquired prodigious talent, talent that with the right attitude and management could end up going to the very top of the game, and in Brendan Rodgers they clearly see themselves under the right management to develop that potential.

With qualification to the Champions League secrured, all first team players retained, and new signings brought in to improve the squad and starting XI; this has been the almost perfect summer.