Chris Sutton has questioned how Celtic expect to attract quality January signings if their European campaign continues to unravel.

It is an uncomfortable question, but one the club should be asking itself.

Celtic need reinforcements. Yet the possibility of arriving at Parkhead with no European knockout football to look forward to could make an already important transfer window more difficult.

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Writing in his Daily Record column, Sutton said:

“It’s bleedingly obvious Celtic are going to need reinforcements in January to sort out the glaring deficiencies in this squad.

“But here’s a big question?

“What decent player is going to want to come to a club that is seemingly happy to be European also-rans at best and whipping boys at worst?

“There has probably been high-fiving and backslapping in the Celtic boardroom about getting the likes of Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh.

“But those players were likely signed with the promise of competing in the Champions League – not propping up the Europa.

“It’s going to be a harder sell if they are already out of the competition with games to go and looking like a club with very little ambition to do much about it in the future.”

He argued that Celtic’s European struggles could weaken their appeal to potential recruits, particularly if elimination is already looming when negotiations begin – which it already is.

That is Sutton’s assessment. It does not establish that any player has rejected Celtic, but the concern is reasonable.

European football is a major part of what Celtic can offer ambitious players.

The opportunity to compete against strong opposition, develop under pressure and attract wider attention helps make Glasgow an appealing destination.

When Celtic struggle to compete, that selling point becomes harder to deliver.

There is a retention question too.

Take Mika Baur. His quality has been evident since arriving and supporters will want Celtic to build a stronger team around him.

There is no suggestion here that he wants to leave. But if a player performs well individually while the team repeatedly falls short in Europe, Celtic risk giving him reason to consider whether his ambitions would be better served elsewhere.

The same broader concern applies to the squad Celtic are trying to assemble. Good recruitment needs to be supported by a convincing football plan.

Players need to see how joining Celtic will help them progress, beyond the prospect of another domestic title challenge.

That brings us back to the board’s own words.

The people running Celtic must recognise that their football decisions affect that reputation as well.

Repeated European setbacks carry consequences beyond an unhappy Thursday night. They can weaken the case Celtic make to their next signing and undermine confidence among players already here.

Sutton is right to call attention to that danger.

January cannot simply become another exercise in asking new arrivals to repair problems that should have been addressed earlier. Celtic need to offer them a credible reason to believe something better is being built.