Celtic

Johnstone, who won the last of his four England caps in 2023, made 17 appearances last season but lost his starting place at relegated Wolves in December and has not played since an FA Cup loss to Liverpool in early March.

“I’m buzzing to be here and I’m excited to get going,” said the goalkeeper, who began his career at Manchester United and has had spells at Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palce.

“I didn’t need convincing by anyone, but Joe Hart rang me the other day just to reiterate what a place this is, what a great group of lads and how the fans are unbelievable.

“You hear about the size of the club, but just being here for a day, you notice how big the club is. And the pressure to win, which is what I like – pressure to win, pressure to perform and we all want to win trophies.”

Kasper Schmeichel had been first choice at Celtic since the summer of 2024, but played his last game in February and subsequently retired due to a shoulder injury.

Manager Martin O’Neill said Johnstone would be “a very good addition” and that Mheuka has “great quality”.

O’Neill also said new left-back Emenalo “has many attributes which I think can benefit us”, adding he is “very quick on the ball and, while he can defend, he certainly gets up the pitch into attacking positions too.”

In the open air of the Raiffeisen Arena, with bedlam all around, there was nowhere to hide for Celtic or Martin O’Neill.

The Scottish champions had endured one of the darkest nights in their European history.

After going out to Kairat Almaty on penalties last year at this stage of the Champions League play-offs, that is saying something.

Four goals up on aggregate against LASK, O’Neill’s Celtic somehow conspired to implode in a second half with little sign of a response on the way to a 5-4 aggregate loss following extra time.

There was no hiding place, and the Celtic manager was frank when put in the spotlight at full-time.

“I’m responsible for this one,” he said.

“Without a doubt. Naturally it took me a long time to get over the Uefa Cup final in 2003 but this was majorly disappointing.

“In the context of things, one was a final which it would have been terrific to win, this was a qualifying game which we should have been able to get through.

“We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That’s absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway.”

The Swede set Celtic on their way and Duran’s double did the rest, a gorgeous volley – on the back of hustling and harassing of the LASK defence – and then that sumptuous team goal that rounded it off.

O’Neill said the club has a bargain in Duran and the early signs are that he was an absolute steal at somewhere between £4.5m and £6m, depending on who’s talking.

The Colombian has intelligence and guile but he’s also got the work-ethic that means every bit as much as his other qualities.

In the 72nd minute, Celtic were 3-0 ahead, and yet there the 24-year-old was darting back into defence to help out, tracking LASK men until they were hounded out of possession.

As much as his goals, his lung-busting effort to put in a shift made him a hero of the night for Celtic people. Honesty counts for a lot.

It’s easy to say that Celtic learned their lesson from a year ago and splashed the cash. They spent close to £30m and now they’re getting their reward. It’s never that simple.

Spending is something that Celtic have done a lot of over the years. Spending wisely has been their problem. Splurging money on last-minute loans who, surprisingly, turn out to be duds.

Forking out multiple millions on recent and not so recent failures – from Balikwisha to Barkas – has been the problem. The decision-making has been awful too often.

Duran represents a return to form, a reminder of the days when they found value, mostly under Ange Postecoglou.

We’re too quick to write off players and we can also be too quick to brand them as stars in waiting. You should tread carefully at all times. With Duran we’ll take the plunge – this guy looks special.

Beyond offering a physical distraction, Kasper Hogh was quiet against LASK, but he will score plenty in the weeks and months ahead. At £11m, he, too, looks like money very well spent.

Handball’s loss was football’s gain as Baur chose a different sport to father Markus, who made 228 appearances for his country as he helped Germany to Olympic silver in 2004 and world championship gold in 2007.

So far, Baur Jr has played for Germany at every level up to under-21s and will hope moving to Celtic helps him make the step up to the senior side.

Moving to Scotland may seem an unusual choice given he had the opportunity of playing in his country’s top flight for the first time had he stayed with Paderborn, or moved to another Bundesliga club.

Baur did make match-day squads as a youth after coming through the youth ranks with Freiburg without making the breakthrough.

Indeed, he credits his experience on loan to Dynamo Dresden last year for his breakthrough season with Paderborn – that together with advice from a mindset coach and the arrival of Ralf Kettemann as head coach.

Having started as a winger then attacking midfielder, the diminutive, two-footed Baur was used more as a deep-lying playmaker with a style similar to Rangers’ Nicolas Raskin.

It helped steer Paderborn to their greatest success since the turn of the millennium.