The August scramble is officially underway at Parkhead

Pull up a chair and pour yourself something stiff because we are back in that familiar part of the summer window. Celtic have officially revived their interest in a mystery striker based in Norway, and quite frankly, the collective groan from the Bhoys faithful is loud enough to rattle the windows at Celtic Park.

We have been here before. We have seen this movie, the plot holes are big enough to drive a bus through, and the ending usually involves a deadline day panic buy that everyone pretends is a hidden gem for about three weeks. As the BBC reported this morning, the chatter surrounding a move for Kasper Hogh is heating up again.

Why are we doing this dance again?

Look, I get the need to shop in markets that don’t charge Premier League prices. You find a gem, you develop him, you flip him for a profit. That is the business model, but there is a point where you stop building a team and start building a scout's scrap-book.

It is July 20, 2026, and the Champions League qualifiers are looming on the horizon like a debt collector. You cannot walk into a high-stakes European campaign relying on a striker who was seemingly not good enough to finalize a deal for three months ago. It is like waiting until Christmas Eve to go gift shopping at a gas station.

The goalkeeper situation is the real punchline

Beyond the striker saga, the club is reportedly receiving fresh encouragement in their hunt for a new goalkeeper. If you laughed out loud, you are not alone. The fact that the club is still actively hunting for a primary stopper this deep into the pre-season is a indictment of the recruitment department's internal clock.

You need a keeper to command the back four and initiate the play from the deep block. Bringing in someone who doesn't know the defensive line is a recipe for a 3-0 loss on a rainy Tuesday in Europe. The goal is zero goals allowed, but the current strategy feels like playing fantasy football without a goalkeeper slot.

The front office needs an emergency wake-up call

There is a recurring issue in Glasgow where the front office confuses patience with indecision. Being shrewd is one thing; staying stationary is another. You can cite the 88-point finish from last season all you want, but the gap in quality when you cross the border into continental competition remains a chasm.

If the plan is to rely on project players to fix immediate deficiencies, the season is going to be a long, painful slog through the mud. You have the revenue, you have the stadium, and you have the fans who show up even when the product on the pitch suggests they should be doing literally anything else. Stop treating the transfer window like a game of chicken where the losers get a draw with a mid-table side in October.

I want to be wrong. I want an announcement tomorrow that puts my cynicism to bed. Until I see a name on the back of a jersey that wasn't scouted via a grainy YouTube highlight reel from a league with fewer fans than my local pub, I will keep shouting at the clouds. Get it done or expect the boos to start before the first whistle even blows.