Celtic fans will be expecting the board to dip into their pockets and spend in the January transfer window to back Wilfried Nancy.
The summer transfer window was a problematic one to say the least as Celtic failed to bring in a number of key targets and also held back on giving Brendan Rodgers a modest budget, eventually leading to his resignation.
Nancy has since come in and deployed his favoured 3-4-3 formation, which requires a certain type of player.
67 Hail Hail revealed earlier this year that Celtic are sitting on plenty of money in the bank, and we asked our finance expert Adam Williams what that could mean in terms of how much will be available in terms of a budget.
How many signings do Celtic need in January?
How much could Celtic spend in the January transfer window?
Given the amount of money in Celtic’s accounts right now, there is no reason to suggest that they can’t spend big in January.
A striker, ball-winning midfielder and centre-back are probably at the top of the shopping list for the Hoops this summer and Williams has hinted that the club could break all sorts of spending records if they wanted to.
He told 67 Hail Hail: “They had a positive net transfer spend in the summer and, despite the fact they aren’t in the Champions League this season, the UEFA distribution system favours them for a number of reasons linked to the UK TV deal, their 10 and five-year records in Europe and so on.
“They had positive operating cash flow last season, and I think the slight increase in transfer receivables plus natural growth in core revenue means that, at least before the managerial shakeup, they will have been getting closer to £100m. Now, by the end of the season, that will likely have fallen because a lot of your income is weighted towards the start of the campaign with season tickets, merchandise sales and so on. But it’s certainly still going to be at least £75m plus, even after getting rid of Rodgers and hiring Nancy.
“Clearly, they have no issues with UEFA’s spending rules because their wages and transfer amortisation are miles under the 70 per cent spending-to-turnover threshold. So, in theory, they could spend £50m in January and increase the annual wage bill by £10-20m and have no issues whatsoever. In fact, because incoming transfers are likely to be structured over several years, they could actually commit more than £70m in transfers and still be able to fund them through their own revenues in the coming seasons.”
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Why it is unlikely that Celtic will spend big in the transfer window
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Sadly, though, Williams isn’t expecting Celtic to spend big this window.
Dermot Desmond and the rest of the board have been known for being tight with their money, and our finance expert can’t imagine that changing.
“Just because you have, say, a £10,000 limit on a credit card, it doesn’t make it sensible to go and spend right up to the limit,” he added. “But given Celtic’s issues at this point in the season, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they go and spend, say, £10m.
“The question that Celtic’s accounts make me ask is, why are they hoarding so much cash? As far as I can tell, there are no big infrastructure projects coming up, and they clearly aren’t going to blast it all on players. It’s smart to have a good cash balance to absorb shocks, but the amount they are retaining is next-level and goes way beyond that.
“To me, it looks like the controlling shareholders are strengthening the balance sheet ahead of an eventual sale. But who knows when that will happen.”
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