Celtic's Summer of Buying Potential Stars

As the transfer window slammed shut, Celtic fans were left with the taste of disappointment in their mouths- a flavour which we are all becoming quite accustomed to.

There is only one question that needs to be answered once a transfer window has concluded and that is: Is your team stronger than it was before the window opened? The answer for the Hoops has to be “No”- until further notice. 

The deadline day departure of Virgil Van Dijk to Southampton, for an expected fee of £11.5 million, came as no surprise to anyone. What did grab attention, however, was the fact Ronny Deila was allowed to spend in excess of £4 million (reportedly) on his replacement; 21-year-old Jozo Simunovic from Dinamo Zagreb. 

Celtic's new Croatian defender

Such is the nature of business at Celtic Football Club nowadays that a fee of £4 million plus raises eyebrows- directly after one of the finest talents at the club was sold for just under three times that amount. 

There have been very few, if any, occasions over the last few years in which September has seen a Celtic side visibly stronger than it was before the transfer window opened. The constant stream of young potential means that the fans rarely know exactly what they are getting.

Could this current Celtic squad be better than it was last year? Yes, possibly. But, is the squad stronger now than it was before the departures of Virgil Van Dijk, Adam Matthews, etc? No. Not until proven otherwise.

It is perhaps unrealistic to expect Celtic to have a stronger squad after losing players which are deemed worthy of playing in the highest echelons of English football. It isn’t unrealistic, however, to expect Celtic to buy talent which isn’t just potential. 

Naturally, buying any player is a risk for any team. An already established player could move to a team and fail to impress for a number of reasons. Similarly, a totally unknown player, like Virgil Van Dijk once was, could come and make a name quickly for himself.

 Celtic’s manner of conducting transfers now, however, sometimes feels more like following Wall Street than it does a football team. Young players are bought at cheap rates, with the hope that they will one day show enough to command a high transfer fee.

This summer has seen Celtic bring in Dedryck Boyata (24), Saidy Janko (19), Logan Bailly (29), Scott Allan (23), Nadir Ciftci (23), Jozo Simunovic (21), Ryan Christie (20) and Tyler Blackett (21). Despite some of the varying ages (and Logan Bailly who is backup to Gordon), all the players Celtic brought in during this recent window have one thing in common- they potentially have bright futures in the game.

The possibility of young talent coming good is an exciting prospect. However, when you know that player, should they show enough, will leave for a bigger pay-cheque and finer footballing scenes than the SPFL, it becomes difficult to think positively of your team’s future.

Another of The Hoops' talents heads South of the boarder

The £4 million plus spent on Jozo Simunovic feels like nothing more than an investment, despite the ambitious fee. And the investment doesn’t feel like a long-term footballing one either- because, should the young centre-back emulate Dutch his predecessor’s success, he will undoubtedly be heading in the same direction. There seems to be little other reason why this amount of money was spent on such a young player, as opposed to one who had enough experience to make Celtic fans feel at ease with their back-line.

Since the 2013/14 season, the transfer fees received by Celtic have exceeded £40 million. In turn, since 2013/14, they have spent around £16.4 million on bringing in players. This coupled with the Hoops’ record-breaking New Balance kit deal surely means there is a fair amount of money around the club. Surely, as a result, this business model doesn’t have to make up 90% of the transfer activities. Surely Celtic can afford to bring in players which strengthen the squad; not just potentially strengthen it.