Celtic fans watching the club's summer transfer business unfold are experiencing an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu, and they are not the only ones.

Cillian Sheridan, a former Celtic striker who now works as a pundit, has said the club appears to be repeating the errors that haunted them in European competition last season. "Everyone thought they aren't going to make the same mistakes as last season with the Champions League qualifier, but it's going towards the same," Sheridan told the Daily Record on 24 July 2026.

The comments, also carried by BBC Sport and syndicated by Yahoo Sports, frame a question that has been simmering among supporters: are Celtic doing enough in the transfer market before the Champions League qualifiers begin?

The Champions League is European football's elite club competition, and Celtic enter through qualifying rounds — early knockout ties played in July and August to reach the group stage. Stumble in those rounds, and the financial and sporting rewards of a full European campaign evaporate before the domestic season has properly settled.

Last season, Celtic's recruitment timing drew criticism. Players arrived late in the window, leaving the squad short of sharpness for the European qualifiers that open the competitive calendar. The result was an early exit that cost the club both prestige and prize money.

Sheridan's reading of the current situation is blunt. In the BBC Sport piece, which asked whether fans are "right to be nervous now," he suggested Celtic are "making the same mistakes as last season" — a phrase that carries weight coming from someone who wore the shirt.

The Daily Record's reporting links Sheridan's assessment to broader questions about whether Celtic's board is moving quickly enough to back the manager with signings. The window remains open, and late business is not inherently bad business. But the concern for supporters is that the same pattern — a sluggish first half of the summer, followed by a scramble as European ties approach — looks to be playing out again.

For fans, the fear is simple. A club of Celtic's standing in Scottish football expects to win domestically and compete in Europe. The transfer window is how you bridge that gap: bringing in players early enough to bed them into the system before the qualifiers arrive. When that does not happen, the consequences can be immediate and visible on the pitch.

The window does not close for several weeks yet. Moves could still materialise quickly. But the chatter around Celtic right now is not about who they have signed — it is about how slowly the list is growing, and whether the clock is running down on the same mistake twice.