RONNY Deila is planning a summer clear-out in order to run with a leaner, meaner squad next season.
The Norwegian has used 30 first-team players in his first campaign as Celtic manager but plans to trim that group for the next campaign. While he is content with around three quarters of his current squad, he envisages no more than 22 first team professionals, supported by development players.
"We will see how many we will get out of the club and how many we will add but hopefully we can get the squad a little bit smaller because now it's some players too much and it's hard to deal with because you have to try to make them happy and you are not happy when you are not in the squad. I don't want to say a definite number but the ideal number would be around 20, 21, 22, with youngsters behind that you can add."
Top of the list of departures will be loan signings Mubarak Wakaso and Aleskandr Tonev, both of whom Deila hinted will be allowed to return to their parent clubs Rubin Kazan and Aston Villa respectively this summer. "It doesn't seem like that [keeping them] is going to happen now," said Deila. "We'll see in the end when we take the decision but right now we are not thinking in that direction."
Also likely to be moving on, assuming appropriate suitors can be found, are on-loan strike duo Teemu Pukki and Amido Balde. Brondby could exercise their option to buy on the Finn while Balde will return this summer after loan spells at Waasland-Beveren and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
"They are good players - that's the positive thing," said Deila. "It's not like they are bad players who are very hard to get out. They are players that lots of clubs want to have in their squad but again who is going in and out is very hard to tell. I have my ideas and plans but I want to keep to myself in this period because you never know in football."
Other men whose future is shrouded in uncertainty are Derk Boerrigter, on-loan Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch, and reserve goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska, who is out of contract this summer. "We haven't decided that yet either but Lukasz's contract is running out so we need to re-sign him or get another one in," he said.
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