Would £14m for one player really be good business for Celtic?
THERE will be some Celtic supporters who feel there hasn’t been enough big-name transfer activity at their club during this transfer window.
However, there are many reasons for them not to be concerned.
The bottom line is that spending £4-5million on a player doesn’t guarantee success.
And, more importantly, the wages for guys in that price range are often huge, and that will be a massive obstacle for the club to overcome.
So, if you target a player who costs millions and millions to buy from another club, you then have to look at adding on another few million pounds for a four-year contract.
Is a total package in the region of £1214 million good business for Celtic?
And, let’s be totally honest, would any player in that price range be guaranteed to get in the starting line-up just now?
Would he really be so much better than the players that were in fine form last season and took the team to an unbeaten Treblewinning campaign? Think very carefully about that. Part of the secret of the club’s success in recent years has been finding gems such as Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper, Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk for bargain fees. The coaching staff then work with the players, give them a Champions League platform and sell them on at a massive profit.
It has worked well for all concerned.
They have also used the loan system well, and their working relationship with Manchester City has allowed them access to Jason Denayer and Patrick Roberts.
The latter was a great success during his 18-month stint at Parkhead. He is back at City at the moment but a return to Parkhead hasn’t yet been completely ruled out.
What shouldn’t be overlooked is that Roberts is the only departure from the first-team squad.
As long as that remains the case, the Celtic supporters should be fairly happy.
I’m sure Brendan Rodgers wouldn’t be overly disappointed about it.
However, movement is part and parcel of the game. Players will want to leave because of lack of minutes on the football pitch and that’s understandable.
But the most important thing for Brendan will be that no irresistible bids are tabled for his main players, such as Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney. He will also want to see Stuart Armstrong sign a new contract.
If he can continue to work with the guys from last season, then Brendan will feel they have a very good chance of having a successful Champions League qualification campaign to land the club another financial windfall of around £25 million.
So keeping the squad intact will be his priority. To lose any key players will become a problem.
He’ll want to see Leigh Griffiths fully fit and challenging Dembele. He’ll want Callum McGregor and James Forrest to kick on even more. He’ll look to Scott Brown to show the same desire and leadership qualities from last season when he was inspirational.
He’ll study his central defenders and decide on a partnership between Simunovic, Sviatchenko and Boyata. If he has all of that, he can then tweak round the edges, here and there.
Don’t get me wrong. Every manager is always looking to improve his squad and will always want to add one or two bits of quality.
Brendan and his scouting staff will have identified targets and there may well be that marquee signing lined up that the Celtic supporters crave.
Good on them if they do so and good for Scottish football.
At the moment Brendan and his players are in Austria, preparing for the Champions League qualifiers.
New signing from Aberdeen Johnny Hayes is with them and, by all accounts, has settled in well.
Another recent addition is Kundai Benyu from Ipswich Town, a promising 19-year-old midfielder.
Brendan’s son, Anton, is also at the training camp and has played in the friendly games.
He has just been released from Swindon Town and has been given facilities by Celtic to train in a bid to prepare him for his next move, probably back down south.
I don’t see anything wrong with Anton being invited in by his dad.
I worked with my own son, Paul, during his playing career when I was a manager.
It’s not an easy thing, for sure, because it’s hard for a father to have a son there.
But as long as everyone is fair to the boy and treats him properly, that is the most important thing.
The most important thing for Brendan Rodgers is that no irresistible bids are tabled for his main men