Celtic seem to have found a pretty neat transfer hunting ground over the past few seasons. The Hoops recently secured their fourth Frenchman in as many summers with the capture of Christopher Jullien.
The 26-year-old will join up with Neil Lennon’s squad in their training camp in Austria over the coming days. He’s moved from Toulouse for a reported £7million after three pretty good years in Ligue 1.
It’s the second successive summer that Celtic have splashed out on a player for France’s top league. Last summer, Brendan Rodgers spent £9million on Odsonne Edouard. The summer before it was around £4million for Manchester City’s Olivier Ntcham.
In total Celtic have spend the guts of £20million on players from France in recent seasons. And that’s not even including the most high profile of the lot. Moussa Dembele may have been acquired for a nominal fee due to a cross-border compensation loophole but he was sold for a massive profit last summer.
What do Celtic like about France?
The club clearly have some pretty good scouts who know their French players. The quality of footballer produced in the country is obviously very high but you need to go right to the elite level before the transfer fees become irrational.
Take Odsonne Edouard for example. The 21-year-old was on the outskirts of the PSG first-team when Celtic loaned and then signed him permanently. We paid £9million for the forward – a healthy fee but well within our range.
If Edouard had been English and playing with Manchester City or Liverpool his value would have been doubled at least. The game down south is incredibly overpriced for the quality you get and Celtic realise that.
We’re shopping in a sensibly priced, high quality market. France has proven over recent decades that is produces top talent. Celtic are starting to realise that they can capitalise on that. Long may it continue.
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