article: The £13m fee, along with the £2m paid by Sunderland for fellow defender Adam Matthews, suggests that the Scottish champions once again emerged from summer dealings having made a profit. Striker Nadir Ciftci, from Dundee United, and defender Dedryck Boyata, from Manchester City, arrived for about £1.5m each, while Celtic still had some spare change to purchase centre-back Jozo Simunovic from Dinamo Zagreb and midfielder Ryan Christie from Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the final day of the window. The number of other clubs willing or able to pay transfer or compensation fees has been on the increase and Dundee, Dundee United, Hearts, Motherwell and Ross County have all loosened the purse strings to some degree. However, cost cutting remains as squad sizes continue to shrink County under Jim McIntyre continued where Derek Adams left off in previous seasons with the biggest turnover of staff along with Motherwell, where an incredible 23 players passed through the exit door in the wake of their close shave with relegation. On balance, Celtic, Aberdeen, St Johnstone, Dundee, Kilmarnock and Hearts appear to have stronger squads than last season, while Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United, Hamilton Accies, Partrick Thistle and Motherwell seem to be starting the season weaker. With all those changes at Victoria Park, it is a guessing game to decide on which side of that line County's new squad will fall. Marquee signing: Danny Ward is only on loan from Liverpool, but the former Wales Under-21 goalkeeper is so highly regarded that he immediately displaced Scott Brown and Jamie Langfield from the first team, with the latter's long stay at Pittodrie looking likely to come to an end soon. Key arrival: Having utilised natural centre-half Andrew Considine, admittedly somewhat successfully, at left-back, Dons manager Derek McInnes has drafted in a much-lauded specialist in Graeme Shinnie from Premiership rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The 23-year-old decided against extending his career-long stay at Caledonian Stadium, where he has also shown his versatility on the right and in midfield. One that got away: Russell Anderson's injury enforced retirement not only deprives the Dons of the former Scotland international's influence on the pitch but - along with Donvervon Daniels' return to West Brom - leaves them short of cover in central defence. In: Graeme Shinnie, defender (Inverness Caledonian Thistle); Paul Quinn, defender (Ross County); Joe Nuttall, forward (Manchester City). Loan: Danny Ward, goalkeeper (Liverpool); Josh Parker, forward (Red Star Belgrade); Ryan McLaughlin, defender (Liverpool). Out: Jamie Langfield, goalkeeper (St Mirren); Joe Shaughnessy, defender (St Johnstone); Nicky Low, midfielder (Dundee); Clark Robertson, defender (Blackpool); Declan McManus, forward (Fleetwood Town); Andrew Driver, midfielder (De Graafshap); Kieran Gibbons, midfielder (Livingston); Craig Murray, defender (East Fife); Russell Anderson, defender (retired); Lewis Dunbar, defender; Jamie Masson, midfielder; Cem Felek, defender; Ritchie Petrie, midfielder; Marcus Campanile, midfielder; Michael Jones, forward. Loan: Lawrence Shankland, forward (St Mirren); Danny Rogers, goalkeeper (Falkirk). Loan ended: Donervon Daniels, defender (West Bromwich Albion). Last season: 2nd Prediction: 2nd. Derek McInnes has had to reduce the size of his squad, but those shed were on the fringes while the new additions increase
summary: As always seems to be the case, the marquee move of the summer transfer window was left to the final day, with Virgil van Dijk's long-touted switch to Southampton from Celtic finally being completed.