Celtic FC Summer Signings
In:
Tyler Blackett (loan), Ryan Christie (undisclosed), Nadir Çiftçi (£1.5m), Saidy Janko (compensation), Scott Allan (£275,000), Logan Bailly (undisclosed) Jozo Šimunović (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed)
Out (Selected):
Virgil van Dijk (Southampton, £11.5m), Adam Matthews (Sunderland, £2m), Amido Baldé (Metz, free), Teemu Pukki (Brondby, undisclosed), Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian, undisclosed), Liam Henderson (Hibernian, loan), Darnell Fisher (St. Johnstone, loan) Stefan Šćepović (Getafe, loan)
It has certainly been a busy summer for Celtic FC. A total of fourteen players have either entered or exited the club; here are the successes and failures of a hectic transfer window, as well as what to expect from the new recruits.
The summer has been filled with the Champions League qualifiers on the pitch, and the van Dijk “will he or won’t he” off it, with both of which having been cleared up in late August/early September. Celtic were eliminated for the second season in a row at the play-off stage of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, which has had a domino effect on Virgil van Dijk’s situation; seemingly, the man made his mind up on transfer deadline day, departing to Southampton for £11.5m. The process had been in the pipeline, so was fairly unsurprising for many Celtic fans. The fact Celtic didn’t qualify for the Champions League meant they lost out on £16m before a ball was kicked through, sponsorship and minimum prize money. The Europa League does not even possess a third of that money and Celtic will be given at least £4.5m for participating in the group stages. This financial void had to be filled and that’s where van Dijk came in; the club were guaranteed at least £10m for him, hence why Celtic wanted to wait until after the play-off, it was an ace up their sleeve to allow for if things didn’t work out.
Balancing books before balancing playing field
Celtic are trying to increase profits and decrease chance or loss, by buying small and selling big, which has worked with Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster in previous windows and Virgil van Dijk this year. The Dutchman was purchased for £2.5m from Groningen, in his native country, Holland, in 2013, and sold for four times that denomination this transfer window.
But, it hasn’t always worked so well with other players that have left Celtic park this summer. Mainly Pukki, Baldé and Šćepović; all three left this year without making any real impression on the team in Scotland or in Europe, and had to all be cut loose, ending in a financial loss. Baldé left for Metz on a free, Pukki to Brondby for an undisclosed fee and Šćepović has joined Getafe on loan. These three highlight the Celtic board’s way of making the football club profitable. By purchasing players from Germany, Portugal and Spain’s lower leagues, they can cherry pick talent of which can be transformed into star players and then sold for profit and begin again. The same can be said for the players entering Parkhead this summer.
Logan Bailly is approaching thirty and a seasoned professional; the big goalkeeper and Craig Gordon’s deputy has been purchased for an undisclosed fee from OH Leuven in Belgium and has a tonne of experience to draw on for his life in the Glasgow fishbowl. Jozo Šimunović is only 21 and looks like a great young addition to the defence, which has been an Achilles heel for Celtic recently. Further, he fits perfectly the Celtic scouting model: young, ambitious and with a hunger to learn. The only difference is Celtic have looked closer to home for acquisitions, including three players coming from Scotland for small fees. Players like Ryan Christie, Nadir Çiftçi and Scott Allan will prove their worth to the team and will increase in value as £2.5m was spent on all three together. In the TV era of the Barclay’s Premier League, that would be the minimum for any of them if there were to go down south just as Adam Matthews has done this year to Sunderland. Matthews performed valiantly on the right side, and has sought to further his career ambitions with Sunderland.
Celtic, in previous seasons, have dipped their toes into purchasing players in England as they can offer trophies, experience and Champions League exposure to any young hopeful. All these things and previous examples as in Jason Denayer from last season and van Dijk show that if you are good enough for Celtic and consistent, then clubs will purchase in Scotland. That’s exactly what Saidy Janko and Dedryck Boyata will be hoping for after their summer moves to the Scottish champions for a compensation payment and £1.5m from Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively. Boyata is a great acquisition and one that will replace van Dijk in not only the Celtic defence, but in future transfer window gossip if he stays fit.
Janko, meanwhile, is more of an unknown quantity, though, if the fact he was previously a Manchester United player is anything to go by, he will be a perfect understudy for Mikael Lustig. Tyler Blackett is a player that is also especially hoping to follow Denayer’s lead, as the situation is a carbon copy of the young Belgian’s for the Englishman this season. Blackett played eleven times for United last season, but was told of opportunities being limited this campaign, so needed a club to be loaned to. After Celtic showed an interest – according to Blackett himself – Louis van Gaal recommended Celtic. Blackett will be hoping for the same sort of season as Denayer, who played a key role in Celtic’s success in winning the League Cup, Premiership, and qualified for last 32 in the Europa League.
Only time will tell if Blackett can be the latest Premier League centre-back to start at Celtic and move forward, rather than backwards.
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