Caution when breaking a club’s record sale

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Go Ahead Eagles have only twice broken the €2m barrier when selling a player, once for €3m and once for €4m (that’s just shy of £3.5m).  Transfermarkt rates Jakob Breum (21), the Danish attacking midfielder who is a reported target for Celtic, their second most valuable current player, right behind the winger who is a reported target for Newco.

After a season when the ‘Eagles finished seventh in Eredivisie, should we really clamour to break new ground for one of their better players?  PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord are sitting this one out.  What the manager wants, the manager gets, that’s why we spent £26m on Idah, Engels and Trusty (and more elsewhere) last summer, but there is a hard truth with every transfer.

Analysis by The Times last month (now paywalled out of my reach) confirmed that across football, “Half your club’s transfers will fail”.  You might out-perform that metric, but few do it consistently and that performance is more often an anomaly than a planning consequence.

Clubs need to have a development plan and, if they want to out-perform the pack, they must stick to it rigorously.  Celtic (correctly) do not advertise what our plan is, but it should be to harvest players at the right age and price, develop the successes into valuable assets, and make our money back on those who do not kick on.

The harsh reality is that no matter how good a player’s YouTube compilation video is, we risk millions on transfer fees, contracts and, more importantly, opportunity cost for players forgone.  My expectation is that Breum’s agent and Celtic are working a deal from both sides.  If concluded, Celtic internet will celebrate a huge success.  That’s the easy part, the hard work to become a success at Celtic all happens after the player gets a squad number.

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  1. itscalledthemalvinas on

    Mrs Malvinas sent to Braehead-Check

     

    Can of cider in the fridge-Check

     

    Windows open so the huns nearby can hear my cheering-Check

     

     

    effthecoficientcsc

  2. isnt that nice of the 2nd rangers to wear the england ladies strips as a tribute

  3. BIGCHIPSUK @ 3:04 PM

     

     

    Just to play devil’s advocate here… I note that those who are bemoaning the club’s transfer business during the current window have not actually proffered any suggestions as to who Celtic should sign and how much they would cost. Of course, these players also need to be available AND prepared to move to the SPL to play the likes of Falkirk, Livingston, Kilmarnock and Dundee in the delightful Scottish winter weather.

     

     

    It’s all very well complaining that we haven’t signed any superstars, but if there are none available for less than £20M, and they don’t want to play in the SPL, what are Celtic supposed to do?

     

     

    For example, Brentford had a bid of £35M rejected for winger and attacking midfielder Omari Hutchinson, who scored 3 goals in 31 games last season for Ipswich Town. So a bid north of £35M wouldn’t get anywhere near securing a first team/CL ready attacking player with a similar return to Nicolas Khün’s 21 goals in 51 games… even if we could offer significantly higher wages than the likes of Brentford in order to entice them north of the border.

     

     

    I don’t profess to know the answer, so I’ll leave it to the club to do the best they can with the resources available, and keep my fingers crossed that the management team can get the performances we need out of them.

     

     

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

     

     

    Excellent post.

  4. Whats the matter with young dane Murray. I thought he played pretty well when chosen during pre season games. Same applies to Big Austen trusty , again thought he performed well ,my one gripe with trusty .at 6ft 4 inches he should not get bullied , he should be doing the bullying . When the panic was on at the 49ers pitching up over the city , a few of the cleverer guys on here posted that the only threat to celtic was from within our club ,and so it looks like . They are gambling our champions league chances .and if they get in the mega bucks will be in there coffers and the shoe will be on the other foot . God there’s a thought for you . Transfer time for us fans is torture , do the suits want our command of Scottish football to end ,the way the three wise men Desmond , lawwell and Nicholson are performing its certainly not like it . HH

  5. @Paul67,

     

     

    Making snide asides about the successful, current manager of Celtic FC cos he upset yer mate.

     

     

    Hit the reset button amigo.

     

     

    Over and Out.

  6. timmy7_noted on

    Can anyone point me to the multitude of posts claiming its easy to sign players? I must have missed them.

     

     

    Most of the posts I have read would like to know why we find it more difficult than other teams.

  7. garygillespieshamstring on 30th July 2025 3:32 pm

     

    Coneybhoy

     

     

     

     

     

     

    There was a goalkeeper called Tom Sinclair who came on loan from Ibrox in the early 1900s to stand in for Davie Adams after he had torn his hand on a nail in a goalpost while playing in a testimonial match.

     

    ———————–

     

    Brilliant, knew someone would know!!

  8. timmy7_noted on

    The Greeks can’t score. Over the two legs so far they should have score 5 or6.

  9. timmy7_noted on 30th July 2025 7:20 pm

     

     

    “Most of the posts I have read would like to know why we find it more difficult than other teams.”

     

     

    No other Scottish team has signed a single player this window that would have sated the Celtic fans. And any signed by English teams that would have been widely welcomed have cost considerably more than Celtic can afford.

     

     

    One half decent, proven CL level goalscorer (including wages on a 4 year contract) would wipe out probably half of Celtic’s rumoured £100M bank balance, though that’s somewhat moot as he wouldn’t sign up to play in Scotland in any case.

  10. timmy7_noted on

    So the richest team in Scotland is happy because we are not signing players that other teams are?

     

    If that’s the case why would we even look at buying anyone. We should accept our place as also rans and keep winning the bank balance cup.

  11. !!Bada Bing!! on

    They are worse than last season,don’t tell me Nicholson and Lawwell aren’t watching….

  12. Bigchipsuk

     

     

    Far too much logic.

     

     

    It’s nothing to do with logic and what is sensible and realistic.

     

     

    It’s all about blaming suits and board and evil Lawwells don’t you realise. They are all stealing money from the biscuit tin. All the cash is being hidden away under a heated driveway.

  13. !!Bada Bing!! on

    Breaking News- Celtic ground staff to report tomorrow at 9am,to erect barriers,for the unveiling of a rookie centre back from Man City, with no option to buy,and just be thankful for it….

  14. On Celtic matters

     

     

    Delighted Maccabi are losing.

     

     

    1) Kyiv v Pafos would be 1 of the 5 opponent options in Mondays draw if it stays that way.

     

     

    Almaty beat Kups so it will be

     

     

    2) Almaty v Slovan as another option.

     

     

    3) Steau or Shkendija v Qarbag

     

     

    4) Basel

     

     

    5) Sturm Graz

     

     

    As it stands it will be pot luck and 1 of the 5 options above.

  15. Timmy7_noted @ 7:48

     

     

    So the richest team in Scotland is happy because we are not signing players that other teams are?

     

    ——————————————————————

     

    Which other team in Scotland has signed a player that we would want at Celtic?

     

     

    HH

  16. Maestro on 30th July 2025 7:57 pm

     

    Why are we sitting with over 100 million in the bank answers on a postcard please?

     

     

    because we keep making pesky profits in our trading.

  17. Maestro

     

     

    Do you honestly think the folk who own the club are going to trouser £millions ?

     

     

    Do you honestly think they are not managing the club for sustained growth in a restricted market in which we operate ?

     

     

    Or do you honestly think they are trying to sabotage 22 years of careful management which has successfully got us to this point. The best 22 year period in our history in terms of trophies won.

  18. Why are Man U not sitting on two and a half billion? Answer, they wasted it all.

     

     

    Cameron Smith Updated: 18 Mar 2025

     

     

    How much have Man Utd spent on transfers under the Glazers?

     

     

    Man Utd have spent a total of €2.4365 billion on transfers since the Glazers took over in 2005. (Man Utd’s net spend under the Glazers is €1.6295 billion).

  19. !!Bada Bing!! on

    B78- not yours,the placement,propaganda machine,who doesn’t answer to replies given,arrogance and ignorance ,who dismisses the guys on here as malcontents.

  20. If Noah could sneak one more at Ferencvsros is would shift the dynamics re the draw seedings a bit.

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