It is safe to say that Celtic supporters were not best pleased with how the board conducted themselves during the summer transfer window that slammed shut at the start of last month.
A section of the fanbase decided to protest the first 12 minutes of the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership in the first match after the window closed.
Some Celtic supporters also held up banners, with one reading “sack the board”, during the club’s 0-0 draw with Hibernian in the Premiership last weekend.
This shows that there is at least a section of the fanbase that is not happy with how the club is being run, which comes after they sold and failed to replace Adam Idah on deadline day, followed by the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho on a free transfer the day after the window.
Celtic have had four goalless draws in all competitions so far this season, including both games against Kairat in the Champions League play-off round, which speaks to their lack of quality recruitment in Brendan Rodgers’ attacking department.
However, few would argue that the signing of Sebastian Tounekti from Hammarby for a fee of around £5m on deadline day has been a good piece of business for the Hoops.
Where Sebastian Tounekti ranks among Celtic's summer signings
The Scottish giants made 11 additions to their squad during the summer window. That is, if we include Iheanacho, despite him being signed 24 hours after the window slammed shut.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Ross Doohan, Hayato Inamura, Shin Yamada, and Callum Osmand have all either rarely touched the pitch or not played a single minute for the first-team this season, which means that they are yet to prove themselves to be among the best signings of the window.
Kieran Tierney returning to Parkhead on a free transfer from Arsenal was a slam dunk of a signing. He is a proven player who knows what it takes to play for Celtic, which means that there was little risk attached to that deal.
Iheanacho, meanwhile, has had mixed success so far. The centre-forward scored goals against Kilmarnock and Red Star Belgrade, but he also missed two ‘big chances’ against Red Star and two ‘big chances’ against Hibernian, which shows that his finishing has been inconsistent.
Benjamin Nygren has a valid claim to be the best signing of the summer so far. The Swedish star is the club’s top scorer in the Premiership, with three goals, and is one of only four players to have registered an assist in the league, per WhoScored.
Shots per game
3.5
1st
Key passes per game
3.0
1st
Dribbles per game
2.5
1st
Crosses per game
1.0
Joint-4th
Interceptions per game
1.0
Joint-4th
As you can see in the table above, Tounekti has pressed his claim forward to be heralded as the best signing of the summer in his first two appearances in the Premiership, already leading the way in the squad for shots, key passes, and dribbles per game.
The Tunisia international also opened his account for the Scottish giants with a strike in the 4-0 win over Partick Thistle in the League Cup last month.
Given that Nygren has added an end product to his performances in the Premiership, with one goal and two assists, Tounekti may have to settle for being the second-best signing of the summer so far.
The success that the Tunisian star has already had at Parkhead, though, could mean that one Celtic attacker is already on borrowed time at the club.
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Hyun-jun Yang may have to look for a move away from the club during the January transfer window because of the success of Tounekti and what that means for the right-sided attacker moving forward.
Why Tounekti may have ended Yang's Celtic career
It is no secret that the South Korea international was close to moving on from the Scottish giants during the summer transfer window amid interest from EFL Championship side Birmingham City.
The Blues, who signed Kyogo Furuhashi in the summer, had a £3m deal lined up for the right-footed attacker, but they were not willing to wait around on deadline day and opted to sign another former Celtic winger, Patrick Roberts.
Tounekti’s arrival from Hammarby on deadline day came too late in the day for Birmingham to hold out, but that meant that the Tunisia international came through the door and Yang stayed.
A goal against Partick Thistle in the League Cup is his only goal contribution of the campaign so far, and he was left out of the matchday squad for the 0-0 draw with Hibernian last weekend.
Yang, who was described as a “raw” player by Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, has not done enough in his three appearances in the Premiership this season to suggest that he is going to win his place back in the team.
xG
0.36
Bottom 35%
Goals
0
Bottom 3%
Shots
2
Bottom 10%
xA
0.21
Bottom 35%
Assists
0
Bottom 3%
Chances created
1
Bottom 3%
Dribbles completed
1
Bottom 10%
As you can see in the table above, the South Korean attacker ranks poorly among his positional peers in the division in a host of key attacking metrics.
Tounekti has created five more chances (six) and completed four more dribbles (five) than Yang in just two outings in the division, which speaks to the gulf in quality between the two players at the top end of the pitch.
Whilst Tounekti, of course, plays on the opposite flank to Yang, his arrival at Parkhead has meant that fellow summer signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha is having to get into the side by playing on the right wing, whilst star forward Daizen Maeda has also been shifted over to the right.
Therefore, Yang, especially given how close he was to leaving in the summer, is surely on borrowed time because of the success of the Tunisian star, as it has meant that he has dropped down the pecking order in his position as a result of other players having to move across the pitch.
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