Brendan makes two surprising UEL decision with Man City talent missing | OneFootball

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed his UEFA Europa League squad. The Scottish Champions dropped into the competition after being unceremoniously knocked out on penalties by Kairat Almaty.

Shin Yamada – theRangers v Celtic, 31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The manager has made a number of big calls with Shin Yamada, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Hayato Inamura all missing out. JSP joined Celtic on loan from Manchester City but is yet to make an appearance in the first team. Yamada, who came off the bench on Sunday, is another surprising omission.

Inamura’s omission is less surprising but given that he featured in pre-season and was solid, fans felt that he may be involved. There is a theme, however, and it is players that the manager probably did not want to be added in the summer. The club are constrained with UEFA requirements on the amount of players they can call upon, with a certain amount of homegrown players required. Celtic could only submit a 24-man squad due to having only seven Scottish trained players.

Celtic have included new signings Kelechi Iheanacho and Sebastian Tounekti. The winger will be ready to make an impact but the Nigerian attacker will need to get up to speed after struggling for game time in the last year.

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel, Viljami Sinisalo, Ross Doohan.

Defenders: Alistair Johnston, Liam Scales, Auston Trusty, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Dane Murray, Anthony Ralston, Marcelo Saracchi, Kieran Tierney.

Midfielders: Reo Hatate, Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan, Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor.

Forwards: Yang, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, James Forrest, Kelechi Iheanacho, Sebastian Tounekti, Johnny Kenny, Daizen Maeda.