Celtic 'shooting for the stars' to have signings in to face Rangers on January 2

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has offered mixed messages over the prospect of having reinforcements in place within hours of the January transfer window opening.

Reo Hatate is among the Celtic target expected to arrive in January. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Despite reports claiming deals essentially are as good as completed to bring in Japanese trio Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, the Australian maintained that “nothing has been confirmed or done”. His desire to waste no time in the window bolstering his squad before the hosting of Rangers come January 2 is indisputable, though.

However, asked if it was realistic to believe he could have fresh faces in place for that derby, Postecoglou hedged his bets. “It’s probably more idealistic than realistic,” the Celtic manager said. “But if you shoot for the stars, they say you’ll land on the moon. So I’m pushing to get them in as early as possible in the window.

“To get them before January 2 might be a bit of a stretch. But I do want them as soon as I can because that period before we restart [after the winter break, with the Scottish Cup tie away to Alloa on January 22] could be crucial in integrating any new players we have - rather than what happened in the summer window where the league had started while we were still signing players. I don’t want to be in that situation.

“The situation with our transfers is that it is constant and we are working through them. Nothing is done yet. As I’ve always said, we live in unusual times when things aren’t straightforward. There are delays in areas.”

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