Chris Sutton warns Celtic of midfield crisis as Rangers dominate

On Sunday at Celtic Park, Rangers out‑muscled the Hoops, securing a 1‑0 victory that left Celtic’s midfield exposed. Former striker Chris Sutton, now a pundit, labelled the lack of physicality the club’s biggest problem, warning that the collapse in the centre will haunt Martin O’Neill until reinforcements arrive in January.

Midfield shortcomings highlighted

Sutton singled out Mika Baur and Callum McGregor for their under‑performance, awarding them a C and D grade respectively. He complained that Baur’s set‑pieces were “just floating corners, really poor” and that the 33‑year‑old McGregor “can’t get around the pitch like he used to”. The Rangers duo Dan Neil and Nicolas Raskin, he added, outclassed their opposite numbers throughout the game.

Transfer market context

Celtic’s recent activity saw former midfielder Engels leave for West Ham on a £22 million deal after logging more than 3,000 minutes, seven goals and eight assists last season. To replace him, the club paid a reported £7 million for Baur from SC Freiburg, added 19‑year‑old Joël van den Berg from PSV Eindhoven and secured Oliver Sørensen on loan from Parma. These moves have yet to plug the physical gap highlighted by Sutton.

Injury concerns compound the problem. Alistair Johnston has missed most of the previous campaign with a hamstring injury and was forced off in the second game of the current term; he is expected back next month. Meanwhile, Yang Hyun‑jun is unavailable due to the Asian Games, having missed the last four matches despite signing a new deal this summer and being linked with a January move to Birmingham City.

Sutton warned that “there are huge problems ahead for Celtic until January; that lack of physicality in the middle of the pitch is the biggest problem”. He added that the situation will persist “until more reinforcements can be brought in”.

Toby’s journalistic pedigree

Former LondonWorld reporter Toby built his career covering Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and West Ham in the capital. He later became a Sports Lifestyle Writer across the Iconic Media titles after cutting his teeth in local news in Brighton and Newcastle. His résumé also includes stints at, the Daily, FantasyFootballScout, Magazine, Metro and the Irish Times, and he holds a university‑level NCTJ qualification and a senior NQJ earned while at Iconic Media. Martin O’Neill now faces back‑to‑back Old Firm defeats in seven days, a stark illustration of the midfield deficit Sutton described as a “problem”. The upcoming January window may prove decisive if Celtic hopes to restore balance and avoid further collapses.