Jackie McNamara is satisfied with the deal to take Nadir Ciftci to Celtic.
A fee in the region of £1.5m has been agreed between the two clubs allowing the Turk to leave Dundee United for the bright lights of Celtic Park.
In less than three seasons at Tannadice McNamara has sold Ryan Gauld, Andrew Robertson, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven to transform the fortunes of United.
Had he been able to hold on to those players United could well have won a trophy and competed with Aberdeen in the league but the former Celtic defender knows that finance comes first in the modern game.
With the potential for a lengthy SFA suspension hanging over Ciftci as he enters the final season of his contract the money from Celtic will be warmly welcomed on Tayside.
“He was in his last year so it was too good an offer to turn down,” McNamara told The Courior. “As time went on and after he made it clear he wasn’t going to sign again, it became hard to stop him.
“In January he would have been free to sign for someone else and there’s also the disciplinary thing hanging over him. So it was a case of him signing now or in January.
“For a guy we brought in on a trial two years ago and signed for free, it’s a great bit of business for the club.
“Look at the fees for Johnny Russell and Stevie May, two strikers around the same age, and you see how good a deal this is for United.
“I’m disappointed to lose Nadir because you always want to keep your better players. The fans want to see everyone still at the club and I’m the same but the club has had a strategy from a few years back and we have to stick to it.
“Things were done another way 10 years ago or so and it didn’t work. There will be negativity about another one leaving but I see it from the other side because I believe in what we’re doing.
“In the next three, four, five years this club will be in a very strong position. I know it’s hard for some people because they want to see faces but you can’t buy success – you have to create it.”
Celtic visit Tannadice on August 22 with the match coming in-between the two legs of the Champions League final qualifiers- if Celtic get through the two opening rounds.