Despite failing to defend the Premiership crown last season, Celtic have handled the finances meticulously to maintain stability in the wake of the pandemic. The Hoops generated enough funds from player sales and invested a decent chunk to rebuild the squad following an array of key exits over the summer. Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan has praised their business model while discussing Odsonne Edouard’s deadline day transfer from Parkhead to Selhurst Park.
“I don’t think Celtic could have demanded more considering he was at the back end of his contract. It’s an amazing business, especially as it looked like he was going to stay until January and beyond. Nothing appeared to be happening, we heard rumbles, but they left it really late.”
Whelan told Football Insider‘s Russell Edge.
‘French Eddie’ had years of success with the Bhoys since joining from Paris St-Germain in a club-record transfer. However, he was keen on exploring a fresh opportunity elsewhere and opted not to extend his contract beyond next summer. Celtic could have lost him for free in a few months’ time if any of his suitors had struck a pre-contract agreement in January, but they somehow found a way to make a significant monetary profit by shaking hands with Crystal Palace.
How Celtic Have Survived Catastrophe Thanks To Their Transfer Model
Edouard enjoyed a dream debut on Saturday afternoon as he scored twice against Tottenham Hotspur soon after replacing Christian Benteke high up the pitch. The Eagles paid £14m to secure his services and the Hoops successfully tied down three attacking options in the form of Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis. The trio cost around £10.5m, thus allowed them to have a £3.5m net profit on top of the £4m earned from offloading Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Ryan Christie.
Similarly, the £13.5m exit of Kristoffer Ajer (who joined Brentford) enabled them to bolster the defensive set-up by bringing in Carl Starfelt, Josip Juranović, Liam Scales and Joe Hart. Moreover, they had an enormous profit earlier this year from the egress of Jeremie Frimpong. Although Cameron Carter-Vickers and Filipe Jota have joined on season-long loans from Spurs and Benfica, Celtic are well-positioned to turn those deals permanent if the pair makes the opportunities count.
Having said that, Ange Postecoglou has a mountain to climb to reclaim the lost glory. But he would have the financial backing to turn things around as long as the club keep on balancing the books.
