Celtic had a brilliant January transfer window overall. The club signed five players in the form of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi, Johnny Kenny and Matt O’Riley. As a result, the squad depth has been strengthened quite a bit. On the other hand, they focused on sending some players out on loan in the latter part of the month, as they were not getting enough playing time at Parkhead.

As a result, Liam Shaw moved to Motherwell, Adam Montgomery to Aberdeen, Osaze Urhoghide to KV Oostende, Conor Hazard to HJK Helsinki and Kerr McInroy to Ayr United, all on a temporary basis. Ewan Henderson joined Hibernian on loan as well but the move is expected to be made permanent in the summer.

Celtic were not as successful though, when it comes sending out some of the more senior players on loan.

Ismaila Soro is believed to be someone who they had tried to find a new club for, after the midfielder has struggled for playing time this season. But Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that a deadline day move did not transpire due to work permit issues. As reported by The Scotsman, the manager said:

“With guys like Soro it’s about trying to help them and if they get opportunities elsewhere to try and facilitate that.

“There was a complication with Holland because unfortunately he needed to have a work permit sorted for us to do a deal yesterday. That didn’t happen. But with him and a couple of others there are still markets open and he is training well and available.”

Celtic could not complete deadline day move due to work permit issues

Soro was brilliant when he first broke into the team last season but his performances have gradually faded away, and he has appeared to struggle in recent times.

Also, with the depth of midfield at Celtic right now, when everybody is fit and available, it is hard to see Soro get too many first-team minutes.

As a result, a move away from Celtic, whether on loan or on a permanent basis, would have made a lot of sense for Soro. Unfortunately, it did not transpire in January. Let’s see what the future holds for the Ivory Coast midfielder though.

This article was originally posted here