The £9.5 million that Celtic paid for Chris Sutton stood as the club’s transfer record since 2000 and fans may have feared it would never be broken. But the Hoops finally eclipsed it this summer to bring French prodigy Odsonne Edouard to Celtic Park in a £10.3 million deal. Now they could be poised to shatter it once again if reports are to be believed. The Sun claims that Celtic are locked in a battle with Newcastle Utd to secure the services Uruguay World Cup star Giorgian De Arrascaeta. He is valued at £18 million and his capture would mark an exciting shift in ambition from the club.
Before Edouard joined, Celtic’s top four signings were all made more than 15 years ago, which sounds crazy when you consider the way inflation has gone. It suggested that the Hoops’ glory days were long behind them and that competing with Premier League clubs south of the border was no longer a viable option. But the club’s finances now seem healthy and reaching the Champions League group stage would boost their coffers by £40 million, so they can afford to speculate somewhat in the transfer market.
De Arrascaeta has just been starring alongside the likes of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani for a talented Uruguay team and he would represent a magnificent capture. His creativity and dynamism in and around the box would improve Celtic’s attack considerably. Spending £18 million on a single player would also give fans a huge boost and send out a signal of intent to rivals.
The De Arrascaeta rumour could simply be paper talk. But it raises an interesting question: would a promising foreign player prefer to go to Celtic or to a mid-table EPL club? The Hoops now seem prepared to pay the sort of fees that clubs like Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Leicester and Watford fork out, putting them on a collision course with those sides.
The EPL clubs can afford to offer higher weekly wages. Celtic’s highest earners get around £25,000 per week, whereas Newcastle have been paying Aleksandr Mitrovic £60,000 per week, Wilfried Zaha gets £110,000 per week at Crystal Palace and Jamie Vardy is on £140,000 a week at Leicester. It is hard to imagine Celtic being able to match those sums any time soon, as the EPL TV rights deal is so lucrative compared to the SPL deal. A high salary might simply be enough to lure a player to England instead of Celtic Park.
But for the odd player, Celtic could afford to go a bit beyond £25,000, and they could sell a far more enticing opportunity than going to Newcastle. Come to Celtic and you are highly likely to win all manner of trophies and play in the Champions League. Check out a Bookmaker Sports review, find all the best odds on the market and you will see that Celtic are just 1/10 to win the Premiership once again next season. They have been mainstays in the Champions League for the last couple of years, and they look set to continue that trend in 2019/19.
When players reflect on their careers, they want to have accrued a handsome pile of cash, but they also want silverware and memories of playing big games at the finest stadiums in the world. Celtic can offer that, and mid-range EPL clubs like Newcastle cannot. Celtic also offers players a great shop window, and it is why Barcelona have been linked with a bid for Moussa Dembele. There is every reason for players of De Arrascaeta’s calibre to turn their backs on England in favour of a move to Celtic, and we hope to see many more exciting youngsters joining Brendan Rodgers’ revolution in the years ahead, winning titles, making the Hoops competitive in Europe and then moving on in megabucks deals. It is a system that works well for Portuguese clubs like Porto and Benfica, plus Dutch clubs like Ajax, and Celtic could benefit from following their lead.
