The summer transfer window officially opened for business earlier this month and Celtic are yet to complete their signing ahead of next season.
Brendan Rodgers won two trophies – the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup – in his first campaign back at Parkhead and may now be targeting more silverware next term.
The Northern Irish head coach has already been linked with an interest in Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers, Coventry star Callum O’Hare, and Dundee dynamo Luke McCowan, among many others.
Instead of bringing in a fresh, new, player to bolster their squad, Celtic could go and bring back a former player to enjoy a second spell in Glasgow.
Celtic's potential chance to re-sign former star
The Daily Record recently reported that central defender Carl Starfelt has been ‘touted’ with a shock return to the club, as his new manager, Claudio Giraldez, does not see him as a key option ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
They cite a report from Spanish outlet La Voz Degalicia, which reveals that Celta Vigo are set to hand Jose Fontan, who had been out on loan this year, a chance to impress in pre-season.
This is said to push Starfelt further down the pecking order in Giraldez’s mind and could push him towards an exit from the LaLiga outfit, opening a door to a return to Parkhead.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops have a genuine interest in bringing the Sweden international back to the club, or how much Celta Vigo would demand for his services.
If they could agree a deal to snap him back up, though, then Rodgers could land a perfect partner for Cameron Carter-Vickers at the back, based on their previous partnership.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt's brilliant partnership
The towering pairing played alongside each other for Ange Postecoglou in both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns as the first-choice partnership for the Scottish giants.
In their first season together, Celtic kept 18 clean sheets in Starfelt’s 34 starts and 17 shutouts in Carter-Vickers’ 33 starts in the Premiership.
This shows that they were both regular starters in the division and formed a solid defence that averaged more than one clean sheet every other game, to help the Hoops win the title.
Appearances
28
29
Pass accuracy
92%
92%
Ground duel success rate
60%
59%
Aerial duel success rate
70%
74%
Clearances per game
4.2
2.9
As you can see in the table above, they remained key players for the Bhoys during the 2022/23 campaign and proved themselves to be dominant performers in the top-flight.
Starfelt, who was hailed as “pivotal” by John Hartson, and Carter-Vickers both dominated opposition attackers by winning the majority of their duels on the deck and in the air, which illustrates how difficult they were for forwards to compete against.
These statistics suggest that the £18k-per-week star, who won 66% of his duels in LaLiga last season, would be the perfect partner to come in and play alongside the USA international next term, as they have already proven themselves to be a fantastic pairing for Celtic at that level.
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However, it remains to be seen how viable a move for the Swedish colossus is and it may not be one for the fans to get their hopes up on yet.
