Some Celtic fans demand healthy finances are reinvested into contract negotiation

By John McGinley

February 9, 2020

Some Celtic fans want to see the club’s incredibly strong financial position be used to enable a new bumper contract for striker Odsonne Edouard.

Celtic announced a pre-tax profit of £24.4m for the final six months of 2019 on Friday evening, in a strong set of interim financial results.

Revenues increased for the period from £50m in 2018 to £53.3m, while the club ended the year with a massive £32.9m in the bank.

It’s incredibly positive news considering we missed out on Champions League group stage football and the riches on offer in that competition.

The sale of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal is specifically noted as being a key driver for the financial success.

Supporters are understandably happy that the club is in rude health, also currently sitting top of the Scottish Premiership, having won the League Cup and dominated a Europa League group.

For some though, the positive position is proof enough that the club should go all out to tie down Edouard to a new contract and keep him for at least one more season.

Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard / (Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

His contract expires in 2022, meaning this summer is likely to be the prime time to realise his value as an asset on the transfer market.

However, with Neil Lennon’s squad potentially going for ten-in-a-row next season and the finances of the club being what they are, there’s an argument we can afford to reward him with a huge contract and profit on his sale further down the line.

It should be noted that the financial position of the club is often better in the first half of the financial year than the latter half given the way income is generated but a big new contract for Edouard doesn’t seem completely unrealistic.

These fans have taken to Twitter over the last 48 hours to share their thoughts on the issue…