{"id":573996,"date":"2026-07-07T21:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573996\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:44:16","slug":"dermot-desmond-witnesses-celtic-need-for-transfer-surgery-up-close-in-shelbourne-stalemate-five-talking-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573996\/","title":{"rendered":"Dermot Desmond witnesses Celtic need for transfer surgery up close in Shelbourne stalemate – five talking points"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hoops supremo was at Tolka Park as two late penalties apiece ensured first pre-season friendly with Shelbourne finished 1-1<\/p>\n

Celtic’s Shin Yamada scores from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 <\/p>\n

Dermot Desmond was in the house as Celtic<\/a> kicked off pre-season with a 1-1 draw, writes Ryan McDonald in Dublin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And fans will hope the Irish tycoon will finally be ready to bankroll Martin O’Neill<\/a>\u2019s summer spending spree – as the champions close in on \u00a36million hitman Camilo Duran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Hoops are the only top-flight club in Scotland who have yet to make any additions so far in the window.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s frustrated punters who are desperate for a new wave of heroes to bolster O\u2019Neill\u2019s Double-winning squad.<\/p>\n

But Parkhead chiefs will hope it was worth the wait with Colombian striker Duran<\/a> on his way to the UK to rubber-stamp a bumper switch from Qarabag.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old is expected to wrap up his switch in the coming days and kick off a flurry of new arrivals.<\/p>\n

Until then, it was largely the same familiar faces on show at a packed-out Tolka Park – aside from the customary crop of academy hopefuls – as the Bhoys got back to work.<\/p>\n

Celts certainly worked up a sweat in the sweltering 27-degree heat. And just like the World Cup, there were even a couple of hydration breaks.<\/p>\n

But as expected this early in the summer, O\u2019Neill\u2019s men did look rusty as he fielded different XIs in each half.<\/p>\n

And after a snorefest, it was Shelbourne who broke the deadlock in the 88th-minute as Harry Wood converted a penalty.<\/p>\n

But Celtic hit back instantly to avoid defeat as Shin Yamada equalised from the spot after Maik Nawrocki was floored.<\/p>\n

Here are our five talking points from a scorching night in Ireland\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Keep Cam and carry on<\/p>\n

The return of Cameron Carter-Vickers would’ve been a sight to behold for O’Neill.<\/p>\n

The imperious USA stopper hasn’t kicked a ball since his campaign was cruelly brought to a halt in October after a nightmare Achilles injury.<\/p>\n

CCV left a gaping hole in the defence as Liam Scales and Auston Trusty formed a makeshift partnership but struggled to keep the back door shut at times.<\/p>\n

Now, Carter-Vickers – arguably the best defender in Scotland on his day – will offer O’Neill some stability.<\/p>\n

And, to use the oldest cliche in the book, the American will feel like a new signing for his veteran gaffer having been sidelined across O’Neill’s two interim spells.<\/p>\n

He was relatively solid against a Shelbourne side who are midway through their season and fifth in the Irish League as he lined up alongside Dane Murray, winning most aerial duels in his 45-minute run-out.<\/p>\n

Bal’s in your court<\/p>\n

It would take something of a minor miracle for Michel-Ange Balikwisha to resurrect his Parkhead career after a dismal 12 months in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

He featured just 14 times – making just three starts – following a lengthy \u00a35m pursuit from Royal Antwerp.<\/p>\n

O’Neill confessed he felt sorry for the bombed-out attacker last term as he stuck with his tried-and-tested to revive their Double dreams.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Celtic’s Michel-Ange Balikwisha during a pre-season friendly match against Shelbourne<\/p>\n

And you’d think this pre-season will be make-or-break for the 25-year-old outcast.<\/p>\n

He was handed a rare chance to start in his preferred No10 position just behind lone striker Callum Osmand – and was clattered early on by Odhran Casey.<\/p>\n

The Belgian recovered and floated around the park, attempting to link-up play but was largely ineffective before being subbed at the break.<\/p>\n

Forgotten Bhoys<\/p>\n

Could Maik Nawrocki yet have a future at Celtic?<\/p>\n

The big \u00a34.5m stopper led the sweeping half-time changes as he was back in green and white following his season-long loan stint with Hannover 96.<\/p>\n

The commanding Pole never put a foot wrong and made a crucial intervention to stop a certain goal as the hosts hit on the counter.<\/p>\n

And the 25-year-old – who won a late spotkick – might well be given a clean slate under O\u2019Neill if he can stay fit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Shin Yamada of Celtic and Joey Sean Gannon of Shelbourne<\/p>\n

Yamada was also given a run-out as he replaced Osmand up top and was active in and around the box.<\/p>\n

The Japan cap had a forgettable spell in Germany\u2019s second tier with Preussen Munster but hustled and bustled in the lone role and drew Celts level at the death.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile left-back Adam Montgomery – whose last competitive appearance for Celts was on Boxing Day 2021 – had his head in his hands after tripping James Bailey as Shelbourne took the lead late on.<\/p>\n

Young guns<\/p>\n

Promising academy kid Joseph Haney was handed a top team start after catching the eye with the B side.<\/p>\n

The 17-year-old was given the nod at left-back in the absence of Kieran Tierney and was decent.<\/p>\n

Sean McArdle – who burst onto the scene under Brendan Rodgers last year – started out on the right-hand flank despite usually playing as a central midfielder, with Colby Donovan tucked in behind him.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill gies out instructions to Sean McArdle and Callum McGregor <\/p>\n

Wholesale changes after the break saw a bunch of academy hopefuls earn first-team auditions.<\/p>\n

Tricky winger Thomas Hatton was the pick of the bunch, while highly-rated midfielders Kyle Ure and Liam Kennedy also caught the eye.<\/p>\n

Playmaker Francis Turley – handed a four-year deal by Rodgers – slotted in at right-back.<\/p>\n

New Bhoys needed<\/p>\n

Principal shareholder Desmond was in the VIP box last night alongside CEO Michael Nicholson and interim chairman Brian Wilson.<\/p>\n

One look at the match day squad just underlines the importance of getting new Bhoys in the door – with about half of the team made up of academy prospects.<\/p>\n

Of course, Celts were without their World Cup contingent of Tierney, Alistair Johnston, Auston Trusty, Benjamin Nygren, Sebastian Tounekti and Daizen Maeda.<\/p>\n

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain isn’t expected to rejoin the squad until Celts jet out to Portugal later today, while wantaway Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate was also mysteriously posted missing.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget Portuguese winger Jota either, who is still sidelined with an ACL tear and not due back until Halloween.<\/p>\n

But with a \u00a340m winner-takes-all Champions League play-off on the horizon, the hierarchy can\u2019t afford to repeat the mistakes of Kairat Almaty.<\/p>\n

The imminent big-money arrival of Duran is a well overdue statement of intent.<\/p>\n

And O\u2019Neill will hope one or two new faces will join him as Celts now jet out for a week-long training camp in Albufeira.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hoops supremo was at Tolka Park as two late penalties apiece ensured first pre-season friendly with Shelbourne…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,244461,244478,1187,16512,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,244481,15,16,92428,244480,5,1188,244479,7,8],"class_list":["post-573996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-cameron-carter-vickers","tag-camilo-duran","tag-celtic-fc","tag-dermot-desmond","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-maik-nawrocki","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-martin-oneill","tag-michel-ange-balikwisha","tag-news","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-shin-yamada","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116880884929097516","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}