Celtic are closing in on the signing of Swedish winger Benjamin Nygren.
Nygren can also play centrally and is on the verge of completing a ridiculously cheap £1.28m move to Celtic if he is granted a work permit.
His contract at FC Nordsjælland expires in six months, which is why the Hoops have targeted the player this summer.
If he proves to be a success, Nygren could be one of Celtic’s best ever bargain buys. So it got us at 67 Hail Hail thinking about previous gems the Bhoys have signed for very little cash.
Celtic’s incredible bargain buys over the years
Virgil van Dijk – £1.75m
We’re starting strong with Liverpool legend Virgil van Dijk. He arrived at Celtic from Groningen in 2013 and proved to be a Rolls Royce of a centre-back.
He won three major domestic trophies with the Hoops under Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila before Southampton snapped him up for £12.5m in 2015.
That proved to be a bargain for the Saints because Liverpool stumped up an astonishing £75m to recruit Van Dijk during the glory Jurgen Klopp years.
Tom Rogic – £400k
It’s incredible that for such a talented player, the Wizard of Oz cost Celtic less than half a million pounds in January 2023.
Lennon signed him from Central Coast Mariners and he went on to become a Celtic icon under a number of different bosses.
Tom Rogic won 16 trophies whilst at the Hoops and is most remembered for his goal in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen in 2017 to seal the Invincible Treble.
Moussa Dembele – £500k
For just £100k more than Rogic, Celtic signed young French striker Moussa Dembele from EFL Championship side Fulham.
The £500k spent was a training compensation fee, but Dembele hit the ground running instantly at Parkhead.
He was a goal-scoring machine and loved tormenting Rangers in the Glasgow derbies. All in all, Dembele scored 51 goals in 94 games for the Hoops, with seven of those strikes against Rangers.
Jeremie Frimpong – £350k
This was certainly an underrated piece of business by Celtic, but the deal has been given more attention recently.
Dutch right-back Jeremie Frimpong has just signed for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for just under £30m, netting the Hoops a sell-on clause windfall.
Frimpong made 51 appearances for Celtic, mostly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But fans loved his sheer pace and will to get forward.
Celtic sold Frimpong to Leverkusen for a fee of up to £11.5m after two seasons in Glasgow.
Reo Hatate – £1.4m
One of Celtic’s classiest midfield players of the 21st century, Reo Hatate has lit up Parkhead a fair few times since arriving under Ange Postecoglou.
He made an immediate impact by securing the man of the match award on his debut versus Hibs, before scoring a magnificent brace in the Glasgow derby against Rangers.
Hatate’s passing range and accuracy is a joy to watch, although he may not be wearing the Hoops next season amid links to Udinese.
Daizen Maeda – £1.6m
Daizen Maeda really proved last season that he is one of Celtic’s most sensational bargain buys in the history of the club.
Signed initially on loan before the deal was made permanent, Postecoglou must be credited for finding such a hard-working player.
Maeda’s work ethic is outrageously good, but he showed across 2024/25 that he can be not only a winger but a central striker too.
Matt O’Riley – £1.5m
The most profit Celtic have made on a transfer sale after Kieran Tierney is midfielder Matt O’Riley. Of course, Tierney came through the academy so his profit stands at £25m.
For Matt O’Riley, the Hoops earned a stunning £24.5m profit – and that could rise even further depending on whether add-ons are met.
O’Riley was another classy central midfielder and was an expert at making runs into the box and getting into scoring positions.
Now at Brighton & Hove Albion, he is being linked with moves to Serie A giants AS Roma and Napoli.
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