The Celtic one in one out transfer necessity to make Champions League numbers work

With another Premiership title within touching distance, Celtic will soon be gearing up for another crack at the Champions League group stage.

Victory away to Hearts on Sunday will see Ange Postecoglou clinch a second successive Scottish crown and a return to Europe’s top table. This term saw them pit their wits against holders Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite some competitive displays, the Hoops failed to register a victory and Postecoglou will be hoping they’ve learned from the experience and can give the fans more to shout about next season.

But they will have to be clever with their summer recruitment with Europe in mind. Celtic are permitted 17 players who weren't trained in Scotland within their squad for the competition. They currently have that number in their ranks just now, with more coming back from loan at the end of the current campaign, although none are likely to feature and will likely be moved on in the summer.

However, it could be a case of one in, one out when it comes to talent recruited from abroad. Postecoglou is yet to sign a single player from another Scottish club since he took the reins at Parkhead, having repeatedly returned to Japan to snap up stars he managed or came up against during a successful stint in the J League with Yokohama F Marinos.

Whilst he’s likely to return to the Far East during a summer shopping spree, perhaps looking closer to home will become necessary if he wants to include new faces in his pool for Europe. Otherwise, some established faces may have to sit out the European nights at Celtic Park.

Here’s how Celtic’s non-Scottish trained contingent looks heading into the transfer window. And if more come in who don’t meet the criteria, then there will be