Celtic fans made their frustration felt during the January transfer window when a left-back wasn’t added to Brendan Rodgers’ squad before the deadline.
Despite a scramble before closing time, late attempts to land Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Hugo Bueno and Paris Saint-Germain veteran Layvin Kurzawa fell by the wayside.
Estoril’s Tiago Araujo was also floated as a Celtic target; however, that never came to fruition either, and the same could be said for attempts to land Owen Beck, who was heavily linked with a move to Parkhead during the mid-season market.
Nevertheless, Jurgen Klopp fielded the Welshman against Bournemouth in the Premier League, ruling him out of a switch to Glasgow’s east end before he headed back to Dundee for the second half of the campaign.
Sky reporter Anthony Joseph and several other suggestions after business ceased claimed a move could be revisited in the summer, as he stated in February: “There is still a chance for Celtic to re-visit that in the summer, but a lot of Championship clubs were looking at Owen Beck as well in England. If he has another good second half of the season, then Celtic could face competition if they are still looking at Owen Beck.”
However, new reports have given an insight into why this course of action is now less likely to occur once summer transactions officially get underway.
The latest on Owen Beck’s future at Liverpool
According to The Athletic, Beck and teammate Luke Chambers, who spent 2023/24 on loan at Wigan Athletic, will both be given a chance to showcase their capabilities in pre-season under new Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
Preparations for competitive action can throw up surprises regarding the emergence of potential rising stars; however, Beck will have stiff competition for a place amid the reality that Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas sit in front of him when evaluating their pecking order.
Per Transfermarkt, Beck racked up 29 appearances across all competitions this term, registering two goals and six assists.
His progress over the past year has been admirable; regardless, it is hard to see Celtic dipping back into the market for him after their initial attempts to land the Wrexham-born man on a permanent deal fell through.
The January window can accentuate the need for additions. In contrast, clubs can take a more relaxed approach in the summer, so expect several names to be mentioned in connection with filling the left-back position over the coming weeks.