Celtic announce double signing as keeper, midfielder deals done

James McCarthy Celtic new boy TEAMtalk

Celtic have announced the double signing of two English Premier League stars in Joe Hart and James McCarthy.

Goalkeeper Hart joins from Tottenham on a three-year deal while McCarthy has penned a four-year contract following his summer exit from Crystal Palace.

Hart arrives amid Ange Postecoglou concerns over current Bhoys stoppers Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain. It’s thought the 34-year-old cost a nominal fee of around £1million.

McCarthy, meanwhile, was allowed to run his contract down at Selhurst Parl and arrives on a free.

Postecoglou said on the club’s official website: “I’m delighted that we have signed two top-class players in Joe and James.

“Both of them have a wealth of experience at both club and international level. That is something which can only benefit the squad, and I’m looking forward to working with both of them.”

Postecoglou takes blame for CL exit

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou suggested he might not have been forceful enough in his demands for new signings as he took responsibility for Celtic’s latest Champions League failure.

Celtic missed out on the group stages for a fourth year running as a 2-1 extra-time defeat by Midtjylland consigned them to a 3-2 aggregate loss and a Europa League qualifier against Czech side Jablonec.

Celtic have made five summer signings but two of them are in quarantine and another two, young former Sheffield Wednesday pair Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw, did not get off the bench in Denmark.

Ange Postecoglou July 2021 TEAMtalk

The only new arrival to feature was 19-year-old Liel Abada, who could not build on his goalscoring debut in a quiet display.

Postecoglou had a back four with an average age of 21, only had two fit strikers, and replaced Vasilis Barkas with Scott Bain as Celtic’s failure to address their goalkeeping problems again cost them over the two legs.

Postecoglou already feeling the heat

Few Celtic fans will blame the manager, who expressed frustration over the club’s “hesitation” in the transfer market before the first leg, but the Australian shouldered the burden.

“I take responsibility,” he said. “I’m the person who has been put in charge. We haven’t got players in. I obviously haven’t done a good enough job convincing people we needed to bring people in.

“I’m not going to shy away from it. I don’t say that because I’m some kind of martyr. I just think that’s my responsibility, that’s why I was brought in.

“I’ve been trying to be as forceful as I can about what we need to bring in. The challenges we have had are well chronicled.

“Irrespective of the result tonight, we still need reinforcements. We had a really young squad out there, young players on the bench. It’s not a situation we need to be in.”