Premier League transfer talk around Cameron Carter-Vickers has faded, with Celtic having held on to the centre-half while his recent form and fitness have made the idea of a quick move away feel less immediate. That is a significant shift for a player whose performances once placed him firmly on the radar of clubs outside Glasgow.
Carter-Vickers' route to Celtic explains why he became such a notable figure. He joined Spurs' youth system at 11, went on to feature in FA Cup and League Cup fixtures, and spent 2020-21 on loan in Glasgow before impressing enough for Celtic to turn that spell into a permanent £6 million deal. By then, he had already earned senior international recognition with the United States and later represented the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Stubbs: the level is not there right now
Stubbs was blunt about where Carter-Vickers stands now, saying: "He's not performing at that level." That is the key line in the wider discussion. The point is not that Carter-Vickers lacks pedigree, but that peak form and fitness have become harder to come by of late, which naturally changes the tone around any transfer speculation.
Stubbs added: "I think last season there were very good parts of his game and again he got injured, which Celtic missed him when he wasn't in the team. He was a big loss." That matters because it highlights both the player’s value and the frustration around how often Celtic have had to manage without him. He has still been an important defender for the club, but the rhythm that once made him such a dependable presence has not looked quite as consistent recently.
Celtic's standards are under the microscope
The bigger issue in Stubbs' view is not only Carter-Vickers, but Celtic as a team. He said: "But I think if you look at Celtic at this moment in time, they're not performing anywhere near the level that, most importantly, the fans want to see."
That criticism lands harder because of the recent results. In 2026-27, Celtic went into the first international break after three successive defeats across all competitions, with two of those losses coming against Rangers in Premiership and Scottish League Cup action. They are scheduled to play away at Motherwell on Sunday, so the response has to come quickly.
Stubbs also pointed to the scale of the challenge across the city, saying: "Rangers have had a huge turnaround in terms of personnel." He added: "Celtic have had a few and brought in people." But his overall verdict was harsher than that, insisting: "But for me, I think there's been a real drop-off in quality for Celtic."
That is where the spending debate starts to bite. Stubbs said Celtic have had Rangers where they wanted them in terms of pushing forward and stamping their authority, but that the club seem to spend just enough. His warning was clear: "And you wonder whether that just enough is going to come back and bite them on the backside."
For Carter-Vickers, the transfer chatter may have cooled, but the broader questions around Celtic have not. If the defender is not at his sharpest and the team is not meeting its usual standard, then the focus shifts from who might buy him to whether Celtic have enough in place to keep control of the race at home.
