Celtic fans’ wait for new signings continues this week as the clock ticks down on the summer transfer window.
So far, Brendan Rodgers has added eight new faces to the Celtic first-team squad with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey the last new player to be signed by the Hoops boss.
With no real transfer links to Celtic breaking so far this week, it seems that this could be another quiet week ahead for the fans.
However, as chat surrounding Celtic hero Odsonne Edouard’s next move gathers, journalist Michael Gannon shared the Parkhead board’s stance on player salaries.
Why Celtic won’t sign Odsonne Edouard
Odsonne Edouard is available for around £3.4m as the Celtic hero looks to make a move back to France with Nice.
But the fee is not a problem for the Parkhead club as Gannon shares what would stop Edouard’s Celtic return if the Frenchman really wanted it.
Gannon said on Record Hotline, “I thought he was going to Saudi Arabia, to be honest with you.
“It’ll be in big money in France again, and this is where Celtic are hitting roadblocks, I think as well.
“Celtic are quite strict about their wage cap, wage bills and their weekly wage and what their maximum is going to be, and they don’t want to shatter that.
“So, say for talking’s sake they can get Edouard for 50 grand a week, you may think, ‘You know what, that’s not bad if you think about it’.
“He’s a proven performer for Celtic, etc. But Celtic are not going to go to that. They’re just not going to do it.”
The Celtic boardroom stance on player salaries
Whilst Celtic fans can understand the club being reluctant to pay any player £50,000 per week, it seems that the feeling in the boardroom is that if the club went that way, it could cause player unrest.
Gannon continued, “The mentality in the dressing room and in the club is that they don’t want any one player earning way more than anyone else.
“Because I think the feeling is there will be a scatter of discord in the dressing room.
“That’s the theory. I don’t know if I agree with that, but that’s the feeling in the Parkhead boardroom.”
Whilst there is quality in the Celtic squad, to improve on that the board will have to look at shelling out more money on player wages.
That’s not to say that £50k per week should be splashed on every new signing, that would be financial suicide for Celtic.
But should the right player come along, is it not better to invest that kind of weekly outlay on one player who has proven to deliver success rather than four project signings that are a gamble?
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