Celtic fans may have to get set for more of the same after the Hoops broke their record transfer fee received for the second successive summer.
At the tail end of last summer’s window, forward Moussa Dembele left the club to move to Lyon. The Hoops received £19.7million for the Frenchman – a relatively modest price after the striker had looked to force a move away.
Dembele’s record lasted barely 12 months before Tierney moved to Arsenal for £25million. And while records continually being broken isn’t always the norm, you really wouldn’t be surprised if we saw it beaten again next summer.
But Celtic also have to be clever in choosing who and when to sell. To be fair to them, they’ve showed signs that they understand the concept.
Celtic know when to sell in the transfer market
The Daily Record, citing the Daily Mail, reports that the Hoops knocked back a £20million bid from Leicester City for Callum McGregor on Thursday. It was felt that Neil Lennon’s men couldn’t afford to lose two key men in one day, or in one window.
That shows that Celtic aren’t willing to throw it all away just for a good balance sheet. Tierney was always available at the right price this summer, it seems like other key men simply weren’t.
There’s probably a fair chance that McGregor will be our marquee departure next summer but that won’t impact the team as much as him going this year. The likes of Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard will be future departures too, but probably not in the same summer.
If the club can cash in on one major player every year then who are we to complain? Fans have thought that the club should implement an Ajax-style model for years. It seems like the club now have a real idea of where and when to sell players.
They just need to get the yearly recruitment right. Then we really will be laughing.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
