Celtic’s transfer business has been lauded for the last couple of decades as the club continues to be a platform for players to move onto bigger leagues.
There is no shame in admitting that our club is viewed as a stepping stone for players to come and display their talents in the hope that, if they perform on both the domestic and European stages, they will eventually earn a big money move to one of Europe’s top leagues.
There is no argument that Celtic have mastered this and our playing trading model has been successful. And it is that model, alongside the club’s capture of Brendan Rodgers and Joe Hart that convinced St Johnstone’s new signing, Dimitar Mitov, to make the move to Perth.
The Bulgarian goalkeeper joined The Saints from Cambridge United and namechecked the Celtic manager and goalkeeper as well one of the factors that convinced him to come to Scotland.
Mitov said, [The Courier], “Up in Scotland, it is a tough league with a lot of big games – going to Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs.
“You look at this league and there is a profile here – Brendan Rodgers is a manager here, Steven Gerrard was, and you have goalkeepers like Joe Hart, Jack Butland and Craig Gordon in the league.
“So that’s top managers and top players in.
“You see players having good seasons in Scotland and getting moves to big clubs.
“I looked at that and thought this was a great platform for me to show what I can do.
“But it’s not all about me. It’s about being part of a successful team, too.
“You have to make sure you do well for the club and, if we are all being successful, then it helps you as an individual, too.”
It is clear that he has an eye on what Celtic do in the transfer window as motivation to come to Scotland and earn himself his next big move.
Players will have seen that although the reputation of the Scottish game is not held in as high regard as the likes of the English Premier League, if you do well enough in Scotland then your next big move will not be too far away.
You only have too look at the recent examples of Kieran Tierney, Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard and even Stuart Armstrong as examples of that and from what Mitov has said, he certainly has been.
In other news, Three current Celtic players that could flourish under Brendan Rodgers
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