Celtic find value in 'special' Duran - but does ambition reach further still? — SkimNews
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- Celtic beat LASK 3-0 in the Champions League play-off first leg in Glasgow, with Camilo Duran scoring twice and Benjamin Nygren netting his fourth goal in four games
- Camilo Duran signed for between £4.5m and £6m, and manager Martin O'Neill called him 'a bargain,' praising both his intelligence and his work-rate tracking back into defence at 3-0 up
- Celtic spent close to £30m on transfers this window but remain in net profit after selling Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda, with a potential £40m windfall if Champions League football is secured
- Martin O'Neill warned that Celtic still need to strengthen, identifying another goalkeeper, left-back, centre-back, defensive midfielder, and creative midfielder as priorities despite the win
- LASK are Austrian league and cup champions who carved out a 'bucket of chances' in Glasgow, leaving Celtic with work to do in defence before next week's second leg
- The result came exactly a year after Celtic crashed out of Champions League qualifying to Kairat Almaty on penalties with no goals across 210 minutes
Why it matters: Celtic won only 10 of their previous 50 European matches, so a comfortable first-leg win against Austrian champions represents a significant shift — and the £40m Champions League windfall would vindicate the £30m summer spend. However, O'Neill's immediate call for five more signings shows the board that domestic dominance isn't the barometer; Europe is, and beating the likes of Bodo/Glimt and Freiburg requires a deeper rebuild.
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