After the SFA Cup final on Saturday, Celtic's full focus will be on preparing for the 2026/27 campaign to ensure that they do not cut it as close as they did this season.

Martin O'Neill's team had to beat Hearts on the final day to secure the title, thanks to goals from Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda, and they will want it to be far more comfortable next term.

Part of their process of improving the squad this summer will, of course, involve selling and signing players when the transfer window opens for business next month.

Club captain Callum McGregor turns 33 next month and the club may want to finally look for a player who can be his long-term successor in the middle of the park.

The veteran midfielder, who is retired from international duty with Scotland, has shown signs that his powers are waning, although he is still an important part of the team.

Celtic open talks to sign Premiership star

McGregor only scored two goals in 37 appearances in the league for the Scottish giants, after scoring eight times in 35 matches for Brendan Rodgers in the 2024/25 campaign.

Now, the Hoops are said to be looking at a Scottish Premiership talent who could come in and be even better than the skipper in the middle of the park.

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are one of a number of clubs that have held talks to sign Motherwell central midfielder Elliot Watt in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Premiership team, who just lost manager Jens Berthel Askou to Toulouse, are willing to accept offers of around £3m for the central midfielder.

It adds that Celtic, Rangers, and Cardiff City have all made enquiries about a deal to sign the Scottish talent, which means that they have all made contact and held talks with Motherwell.

However, it now remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops are willing to pay the £3m that it will take to secure a deal for the 26-year-old star.

How Elliot Watt would be a Callum McGregor upgrade for Celtic

Celtic should splash out the £3m asking price for the central midfield whiz when the summer transfer window opens because he could arrive at Parkhead as an upgrade on McGregor.

Watt was the heartbeat of an impressive Motherwell team, who played lovely football, this season and played a similar role to the Hoops skipper in the sense that he was the player always looking to get on the ball to make things tick.

In fact, he ended the campaign with the second-most completed passes in the Premiership, ahead of McGregor and only behind Liam Scales, which speaks to his influence in possession.

This shows that the Scottish ace, who writer Kai Watson described as the "best midfielder in the league", has the metronomic qualities as a passer to take on the captain's role at Parkhead in the number six position.

On top of his clear qualities as a passer, Watt has also shown that he can make an impact offensively with six goals from 2.19 xG and 4.37 xA in the Premiership this season.

McGregor, meanwhile, produced two goals from 2.63 xG and 4.75 xA. This suggests that the £3m-rated talent would offer a similar level of creativity and more of a threat as a goalscorer from the middle of the park.

Watt is also more mobile and defensively impressive in midfield for his side than McGregor is for Celtic. He averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game in the league, whilst the Celtic captain averaged 2.4 per match.

The Motherwell ace's five duels won per game also eclipsed McGregor's 2.8 per match for the Hoops in the Premiership, which suggests that the 26-year-old star is more effective at getting across the pitch to compete in and win duels.

Therefore, Celtic could land an upgrade on their captain and unearth his long-term successor at Parkhead by securing a deal to sign Watt this summer, as he could offer more out of possession to prevent goals and more of a threat at scoring them, whilst being as impressive at passing.

The midfield star has shown that he has the passing, defensive, and offensive qualities to be a huge success in the number six role for the next Hoops manager, which is why the board must strike to secure a deal ahead of Cardiff and Rangers.