Hearts investor Tony Bloom will not invest further money into the club for the January transfer window.
It’s a boost for Celtic given the fact Hearts are looking like serious Scottish Premiership title contenders at the moment.
The Hoops fell five points behind leaders Hearts at the weekend as they lost 2-0 to Dundee at Dens Park.
The Jambos beat Kilmarnock convincingly on Saturday night, and both results mean Celtic are in danger of falling eight points behind if they lose to Hearts at Tynecastle this Sunday.
But Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay, meanwhile, has confirmed that while new signings haven’t strictly been ruled out for January, Bloom won’t be funding the recruitment at all.
Hearts CEO confirms no further Bloom investment for January
McKinlay was speaking to Hearts club media as he provided his quarterly update, and explained why new January signings are unlikely at the moment.
He also clarified that Bloom’s hands are tied due to UEFA regulations, saying: “You never say never because you just don’t know what’s going to happen, but (we’re) unlikely to make any significant number of new signings.
“Everyone knows we’ve got a big squad and we’re more likely ideally, to actually move a few players out, maybe some players that thought they still had an opportunity over this period of time, but maybe come January, decide they need to move elsewhere.
“I think one other thing just to touch upon is that yes, we’ll have the benefit of Jamestown Analytics and that is massively important to allow us to kick on if we do feel we need new players in January or indeed next summer.
“But there’s been some talk about if we’re in a great position, then Tony Bloom will put more money into the club and invest further.
“I think it’s important I just emphasise that Tony’s not actually in a position to do that, he said this himself when he spoke to the Foundation members in August at the beginning of the season, just to do with UEFA rules.
“I just want to make sure people do understand that, but I’m very confident that we will have a squad coming out of January that will allow us to give ourselves the best opportunity as we move through the rest of the season.
“It’s very exciting times and I’m really looking forward to that going forward.”
Will Celtic spend big in the January transfer window?
Put frankly, they should. Given what happened in the summer, with the recruitment being so poor and leading to fan protests, Celtic must act.
And they’ve now been handed even more of an incentive to spend with Hearts not appearing likely to invest further in their squad.
Brendan Rodgers delivered an all-timer of a quote on Sunday. He said: “Listen, it’s not all linear and all smooth right the way through the season. That’s for sure. The challenge from the summer, now leading into here, where we lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out on the team.
“And there’s no way you’ll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, I want you to drive it like a Ferrari.”
It’s so clear that he’s frustrated about his current squad, and is desperate for new reinforcements in the winter. The Celtic board simply must back him to ensure the title remains at Celtic Park come May.
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