Celtic have spent around £5.5m on Camilo Duran, but the big story is about how little Qarabag paid to find him in the first place.
Celtic’s capture of Duran looks like a smart piece of business by the club on paper. They have secured a proven Champions League-level striker for just under £6m. But for Qarabag, this kind of transfer is not new.
While Celtic have the financial muscle to buy established players from Qarabag, the real question the Parkhead board should be asking is how the Azerbaijani club keeps identifying talent like this to sell on for massive profits.
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What do we make of Camilo Duran?
Celtic can learn from how Qarabag found Camilo Duran
Qarabag signed Duran from Portuguese second division side Portimonense for £200,000 before selling him to Celtic in a deal worth around £5.5m, potentially rising further.
Brazilian winger Kady Borges is another example of Qarabag’s talent spotting. Signed on a free transfer in 2021, he helped the Azerbaijani club win a league and cup double, score goals in Europe, before joining Krasnodar in a multi-million-euro deal.
Qarabag also paid modest fees for Juninho and Leandro Andrade. Juninho arrived from Portuguese top-flight side Chaves before joining Flamengo for €5m, while Andrade was recruited from Bulgaria and later sold to Polissya for another substantial profit.
Qarabag are finding players in overlooked markets, paying modest fees and giving them the platform to perform domestically and in Europe. That is not one successful transfer but evidence of an effective recruitment system.
Transfer lessons Celtic can learn from Qarabag
Celtic cannot copy every part of Qarabag’s model because UK work-permit rules restrict how early the Parkhead club can enter certain markets. Governing Body Endorsement rules can prevent Scottish clubs from signing young, uncapped players directly from lower-ranked leagues, while Qarabag have greater freedom to take those early recruitment gambles.
But that does not excuse Celtic from building a clearer, repeatable system for finding undervalued players who can make a difference domestically and in Europe.
The lesson is not that Celtic could have signed every player Qarabag found at the same stage. It is that Parkhead need their own version of the model, built around overlooked players who are affordable, eligible and ready to increase in value.
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