Record Sport looks at how the five first team players away on loan from Parkhead are getting on in the early stage of the season

It was a big summer of transfer window at Celtic, with large chunks of money being thrown about in both directions.

Hoops forked out nearly £40million in combined fees on Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan, Jordan Lotomba, Mika Baur and Joel van den Berg but that has to be offset against the huge sum of approximately £46million generated through the sales of Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate, Luis Palma, Johnny Kenny and Maik Nawrocki.

Martin O'Neill further bolstered his squad with the loan captures of Landon Emenalo, Sam Johnstone, Oliver Sorensen and Shim Mheuka, meaning that several other players were also shown the door at Celtic Park on temporary deals.

And while the Premiership champions' big money signings still try to get up to speed, Record Sport takes a look at how the five first team players currently away from the club on loan are getting on.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha (Gent)

Celts splashed £5million to sign winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha from Antwerp in the summer of 2025. However, the DR Congo international proved to be a major disappointment in Glasgow, where he made just 14 appearances in total, failing to score in any of them.

The 25-year-old has been sent back to the Belgian top tier with Gent and bagged his first goal for the club in his sixth outing last weekend in the 2-0 away win over Zulte Waregem.

In the wake of his first strike, he hasn't forgot about his parent club - claiming the Hoops ruined his chance of making the World Cup squad with DR Congo.

Shin Yamada (OH Leuven)

Balikwisha isn't the only Celtic player out on loan in Belgium. After 12 appearances and no goals following his switch from Kawasaki Frontale last year, striker Shin Yamada spent the second half of last season on loan at Prussia Munster in Germany's third tier.

That spell yielded three goals in 10 matches and the Japan international is now spending another season away from Celtic are linking up with OH Leuven. He's hit a blank in all six of his games for the club so far.

Paulo Bernardo (Gornik Zabrze)

Former Benfica youngster Paulo Bernardo racked up 64 appearances in his first two seasons at Celtic, scoring three times.

But after falling down the pecking order under Martin O'Neill, the playmaker has had to journey to Poland in search of regular minutes.

He has appeared 12 times in all competitions for Gornik Zabrze and helped himself to an assist in the 2-1 aggregate loss to Ferencvaros in qualifying for the Europa League.

Last month, Bernardo admitted he had to leave Celtic because he simply couldn't handle another year on the fringes of the squad when he said: "For me, playing football is the most important thing.

"Last season at Celtic I didn't get many opportunities. A second year in a row without regular appearances was out of the question. After talking to the manager and the board, I felt this was the best decision."

Adam Montgomery (Livingston)

Remarkably, ex Scotland youth international Adam Montgomery is on his seventh loan spell away from Hoops.

The left back made his Celts bow way back in 2021 but has only made 20 appearances for the club in total, having spent most of the time since then away on loan.

He previously turned out for Aberdeen, St Johnstone, Fleetwood Town, Motherwell and Queens Park, Montgomery has returned to Livingston for another season after an injury ravaged loan stint in 2025/26.

The 24-year-old featured for the Lions in their first two Championship games of the campaign but has not played since.

Odin Thiago Holm (Valerenga)

Hopes were high when Celtic paid Norwegian prospect Odin Thiago Holm from Valerenga three and a half years ago.

But things simply haven't gone to plan for the 23-year-old since then, with Holm revealing in July that he had to undergo surgery to cure a rare condition that affected his calf. He stated: "I finally got it operated on and it feels really good. I'm a little more optimistic after talking to some people who have been through the same thing and got better.

"So I'll just keep my fingers crossed. An operation was talked about for a long time, but Celtic wanted to go in a more conservative direction without it having any effect, so it ended up with surgery. It's good to come to a place where they have understanding and knowledge of the damage, so we can get it sorted out.

"I haven't played that much football, so I've learned how to get through tough times. That's an extra part of my experience too. I think I have a future playing football. As long as my legs are okay now, there's nothing holding me back."

Following a loan stint with Los Angeles FC in the MLS, Holm has returned to first club Valerenga in the summer.