Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton reckons Brendan Rodgers will be putting his transfer funds towards quality rather than quantity this summer, with a big budget expected to be available.
Celtic have already signed Odin Thiago Holm and look to be bringing in Marco Tilio, too. However, both signings look like young talents that will be developed over time rather than make an immediate impact at a Champions League level.
The bulk of Celtic’s summer business is undoubtedly still ahead of us and Sutton reckons there’s a chance we see £8m or £9m players make their move to Glasgow.
Writing in his Daily Record column, the outspoken pundit said: “It’s funny, when you look at the recruitment in his first spell, he didn’t actually spend that much. There were big outlays on the likes of Scott Sinclair, Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard. But when you factor in big money sales such as Moussa Dembele and Stuart Armstrong, Rodgers’ net spend over three windows was less than £10m. Now the talk is he’ll be handed £30m this summer.
“Whether that is the case, we’ll need to wait and see. But I am sure the target will be quality rather than quantity. He might be looking at the goalkeeper situation with Joe Hart not getting any younger, a centre-back looks a must, I’d imagine another attacking wide player and maybe striker could be on the agenda.
“Does he go and buy three or four £8m or £9m players for these roles? This is not a squad that needs wholesale changes. A lot will depend on who leaves, but I’d suspect some of the players who might have been thinking about a new challenge, must have their minds changed with a new manager of this calibre coming in.
“You only have to look at his track record of improving players. Rodgers took some mild flak about some of his recruitment, along with talent spotter Lee Congerton, but there is absolute no doubt about his abilities as a coach.”
Whether we see Celtic flirt with figures close to our record transfer fee is unknown, but we know the club certainly has the capability if the right players come along.
Good moves off the park, continued fan demand for tickets and the riches of the UEFA Champions League mean the club is heading for record revenue well in excess of £100m.
If the Bhoys board are truly ready to back Rodgers’ ambitions of competing well in Europe, it will cost a fair amount of cash. So it’s easy to understand why Sutton is eyeing box office business. A very intriguing few months are ahead of us.
In other news, Celtic announce B team match in Ireland; date and ticket details.
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