The summer transfer window officially opened for business on Friday and Celtic look set to dip into the market to bolster their squad ahead of next season.
Brendan Rodgers has already been linked with a move for Euros star Dominik Livakovic to replace Joe Hart and Dundee dynamo Luke McCowan this month.
It has also been reported that the Hoops are keen to secure a deal to bring Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney back for a second spell at Parkhead.
The Scotland international is said to be eager to return to Glasgow but the financials around the deal, whether it is a permanent or a loan, make it unlikely at this moment in time.
Why Kieran Tierney would be a good signing
The left-footed whiz knows the club and has already proven himself in the Scottish Premiership, which suggests that he could hit the ground running at Paradise.
Tierney came up through the academy system in Glasgow and worked his way into the first-team set up before completing his move to the Gunners in 2019.
Before his transfer to England, the Scottish talent racked up eight goals and 37 assists in 170 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions.
He is reportedly on roughly £108k-per-week at The Emirates, however, and no current Celtic player earns more than £37k-per-week, which suggests that it could be incredibly difficult for the Bhoys to land him unless Arsenal are willing to cover a large percentage of his wages as part of a loan move.
Rodgers could, however, save the club millions by unearthing Tierney 2.0 from the academy to compete with Greg Taylor for a starting spot, rather than spending money on a new signing to bolster that area of the pitch.
Why Matthew Anderson must be given a chance
20-year-old left-back Matthew Anderson spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Admira Wacker in the second tier in Austria as part of a link-up between the two teams.
The Scotland U21 international described it as being the "perfect" level for him as a first loan move away from Parkhead and his fantastic performances could earn him a chance to impress Rodgers in pre-season.
He placed within the top 10% of his positional peers in the 2. Liga with 0.63 key passes per 90 and 3.97 dribbles per 90 respectively, which shows how forward-thinking and progressive the former B team star is.
Appearances
21
Minutes played
1,646
Assists
6
Goals
1
Games per G/A
3
Games per assist
3.5
As you can see in the table above, Anderson provided a regular threat from a left-back position with an excellent tally of seven direct goal contributions in 21 appearances.
Tierney's 37 assists in 170 games for Celtic averaged out as an assist every 4.95 matches, 1.45 games more on average than it took the Admira Wacker loanee to register assists this term.
The Hoops starlet was also named in the 2.Liga Team of the Season last month, which further illustrates how impressive the young defender was in Austria.
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Therefore, Rodgers could save millions by bringing Anderson into the first-team fold and providing him with a chance to prove that he can be the next Tierney to come through the ranks as an attacking left-back who can consistently provide assists.
It will then, of course, be down to the 20-year-old to take his opportunity and step up to the Premiership, but his performances out on loan suggest that the potential is there for him to do just that, which would prevent the club from needing to splash millions on a new left-back.