Despite signing 12 new first-team players in the transfer window, Celtic’s financial future looks incredibly well set right now.
The Hoops were sensible with their summer acquisitions and did so after receiving some hefty sums for star men Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard.
What’s the word?
Ajer was the first to depart Parkhead a few months ago as the Norwegian centre-half joined newly-promoted Premier League side Brentford.
The transfer fee for him was £17.5m but fresh information claims that Edouard may actually rake in more cash for the Hoops.
At one stage, it looked as though the Frenchman was going to be priced out of a move due to his wage demands but Crystal Palace lodged a late attempt to sign him.
An upfront fee of £14m was gathered but according to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph, that number could improve significantly.
Speaking on The Celtic Exchange podcast, he commented: “In terms of Edouard, Celtic wanted clauses that were achievable.
“And we understand them to be rising up to £18.5m, and any money now that comes in from the additional clauses will be going directly to Celtic that is not part of the initial fee, which was in the clause with Celtic and PSG.
“It was 40% of the profit from the transfer fee only. And that is from the £14m fee. So anything more that comes in from Edouard, any more riches will be going to Celtic directly.
“Even with this situation of his contract, because people were seeing Celtic were looking to get around £18 to £20m for him. They are still are likely to get that because I’m told that these are very achievable clauses.”
Fans surely buzzing
Despite having just a year left on his contract with Celtic, watching their top scorer over multiple years depart for just £14m almost felt insulting, that’s especially when you consider the sheer amount of money available to Premier League clubs.
However, if that tag does indeed rise to £18.5m then it will provide a significant cash injection to the Bhoys over the next few years.
Ange Postecoglou spent around £20m this summer which means that the club are already in the green by around £14m-£15m after their player sales.
That gives Celtic a sizeable amount of spending power when the January transfer window comes around.
Future bonuses from Ajer and Edouard will only see their profits rise which in turn, should lead to an improved feel around the entirety of the club.
The sensibility with which Celtic are acting right now is a direct contrast to the events of 12 months ago when they spent so poorly on players like Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas.
The former has found the net on just six occasions while Barkas has already been touted with an exit after a nightmare first year in Glasgow.
Under the stewardship of Dominic McKay and Postecoglou, the future of Celtic looks a lot brighter. Supporters should be absolutely delighted right now.