BBC Scotland’s chief sports writer Tom English appeared on a recent edition of the BBC’s Sportsound podcast and at one point during the show, the journalist shared some praise for Celtic’s “phenomenal” transfer business in recent years.
Some recent reports have linked Hoops centre-back Kristoffer Ajer with a move away from Parkhead, with Football Insider reporting that Celtic have placed a £20m asking price on the Norwegian defender.
|
|
Ex-Motherwell centre-back Stephen Craigan, who also appeared on this edition of the BBC’s Sportsound Scottish football podcast, spent some time discussing Ajer’s potential move away from Celtic, explaining that the Hoops could make “an incredible return” on the player who they bought for a transfer fee of ‘as much as £650k‘ back in 2016.
Liam McLeod, who hosted this edition of the podcast, then directed the conversation towards English who went on to share praise for Celtic’s dealings in the transfer market in recent years.
English said: “I think Celtic now have that reputation from other players. I think [Victor] Wanyama started all this. Wanyama came in for small money and then got his move down to England. I think that was Peter Lawwell’s bargaining chip for the [Virgil] van Dijks and other players to come in his wake.
“I don’t think anyone needs telling about all the money that Celtic have made out of their transfer business – it’s been phenomenal. But I think Wanyama started it. Wanyama gets his move to England and Van Dijk comes in and Peter Lawwell can say to Van Dijk [when] he’s negotiating with him – ‘look at Victor Wanyama, he came to us for a couple of seasons, got his move to England, ended up at Spurs, this can happen to you’ and sure enough, it happens to Van Dijk.
“So now, Peter Lawwell can go to younger players – the Ajers and the next generation of Ajers, and say – ‘look what’s happened to these guys.’”
Have you been impressed by Celtic's transfer business in recent years?YES
NO
|
TIF Thoughts…
Celtic made a profit in the transfer market in six of the eight seasons between the 2012/13 campaign and the 2019/20 campaign and with that in mind, it may be understandable why English described the Hoops’ transfer business as “phenomenal” during this podcast.
Furthermore, as English explains, the fact that Celtic have signed players like Wanyama and Van Dijk in the past and given them a place to showcase their ability in Britain before they went on to secure moves to the Premier League – which is financially better off than the Scottish League, may also make a move to the Hoops an attractive prospect for young players and this could be another benefit of Celtic’s transfer business in recent years.