Lambert Warns Celtic Squad Depth Insufficient for Title Defense Despite Caution Against Panic

Former Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert has issued a stark assessment of his old club’s current squad, insisting the Scottish champions are “nowhere near good enough” to retain their title without significant reinforcement, while simultaneously urging against knee-jerk reactions.

Striker Camilo Duran represents the sole summer addition to date, though the club did secure midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a permanent basis following his short-term spell last season. However, hopes of bolstering the attack further were dashed as targets Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi opted against returns to Glasgow. Iheanacho has since joined Turkish side Bursaspor on a free transfer, while Saracchi confirmed on social media that he and his representatives exhausted every avenue to facilitate a move back to Parkhead.

Compounding the recruitment shortfall, German centre-back Maik Nawrocki has departed for French outfit Lens in a permanent deal.

“The squad’s not strong enough,” Lambert told BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound programme. “I’ve seen Celtic, they’re nowhere near good enough at this moment in time, nowhere near it. Everybody recognises it.”

Lambert acknowledged the team will remain competitive but expressed doubt over their capacity to secure a successive league crown given the current personnel. “They’ll compete, but I don’t think they’re strong enough to go and win it [the league] again at this moment in time. The problems were there last season, so they’re not going to change again this season. The squad was very, very limited on what it was last season. They won’t get away with that again – the manager knows it.”

Source link