Celtic were unable to secure the deadline-day signing they had been pushing for, with the club ultimately conceding defeat in their attempt to bring in Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis.
The Parkhead side moved aggressively in the final 24 hours of the window, completing six deals before Wednesday evening’s meeting with Aberdeen, adding to the four players already brought in earlier in the summer.
But their long-running interest in Gineitis ended in disappointment, as the Lithuania international stayed in Serie A despite extended talks over a potential move.
Even without that late breakthrough, Celtic’s summer recruitment drive still reached double figures for new arrivals.
Former England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone completed a season-long loan move from Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Chelsea teenage forward Shim Mheuka joined on the same basis.
Celtic were unable to complete a deal for one of their main targets, Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis
Martin O’Neill’s squad added depth in goal with the arrival of Sam Johnstone
There were further defensive additions, too, with left-back Landon Emenalo arriving from Stamford Bridge for the season and Swiss right-back Jordan Lotomba joining from Feyenoord until the summer.
Celtic also confirmed a four-year deal for £3.5m signing Joel van den Berg from PSV Eindhoven, while Danish midfielder Oliver Sorensen had also agreed a one-year loan from Parma earlier in the week.
Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur were all snapped up for a combined £30m earlier in the summer.
Celtic have also moved a number of players on with Reo Hatate heading to Burnley and Johnny Kenny signing for Preston. Those moves followed the departures of Arne Engels to West Ham and Daizen Maeda to Ipswich.
Asked if he was confident that the squad would be strong enough to compete on all fronts at the close of business, O’Neill said: ‘One has to be confident, one has to be.’
Meanwhile, it’s been announced that Emenalo, Mheuka and Van den Berg won’t be a part of Celtic’s squad for the Europa League.
The club had to submit 25 names to UEFA for the group stages by Wednesday — including seven ‘home trained players’.
And while Duran, Baur, Hassan and Hogh are joined by Sorensen, Lotomba and Johnstone in the squad, three of the new boys have missed out.
‘There are obviously some very tough decisions to be made in putting this squad together for the Europa League,’ O’Neill explained.
‘It’s a difficult list and, for me, the most important thing is our domestic football.
‘Of course, we’re disappointed about the Champions League but the Europa League is still very strong, and we want to try and do as well as we possibly can in that.
‘The players we have signed, we want them to make a mark initially in the domestic scene, which is the most important thing for us at this stage.
‘Then, we’ve got a chance to perhaps change things in February if we’re still in contention.’
Danish midifelder Oliver Sorensen also joined Celtic in a busy end to the transfer window
Goalkeeper Johnstone has insisted he has his sights set on taking the No 1 jersey away from Viljami Sinisalo as he looks to become the latest English success story between the sticks after Fraser Forster and Joe Hart.
The 33-year-old was on the bench for the 3-0 win over Aberdeen but is looking for game time during his spell in Scotland.
He said: ‘That’s the plan for me. But again, we’re here to compete and it’s not a given — it’s down to the manager to choose who plays.
‘That’s football, the goalies work close together and we support each other no matter what.
‘To come to a huge club like this is a privilege and I didn’t have to think twice.’
