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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A good professional result for the huns played in 31degrees C.
Im seeing it more and more in football that possession and being the better team counts for very little.
Tippy tappy possession is soooo yesterday.
A winning mentality, grit, determination and of course luck are just as if not more important characteristics.
It was good reading back on the article link from CQN 2015 on the last blog. Very similar discussions with accusations of trolling. Political argument and some extremely good posts. A lot of well know monikers still posting today including Kev J who definitely epitimises ” Perseverance beats ResIStance”.
Been there and literally bought the T shirt.
HH.
Brugge play Nice and Benfica play Salzburg I believe. So likely to be the 2 big teams who progress. Personally I would love us to draw Pafos or Kyiv and them to get Brugge. First leg away for us.
Maestro on 30th July 2025 7:57 pm
Why are we sitting with over 100 million in the bank answers on a postcard please?
I hope the postcard as a pre-requisite is not essential. If not, let me give my ` answer`.
The reason we are `sitting` with over 100 million in the bank is because the standard of player we would need who would have a good chance of improving our team is extremely unlikely to have any desire to play in the SPFL.
Hot Smoked:
A typically shit answer to a reasonable question, and about in the same mould as the clowns who keep asking us who we would sign as if we are the guys who are extremely well paid to come up with those answers. Here’s a clue; we aren’t.
But I’ll give you, and them, an answer.
There are footballers out there who would come here and are within a price range we can afford who are better than Tillio and Yang. We just won’t meet their club’s valuation.
There are strikers out there who are better than the gaping hole we have in the squad right now. Better probably than Idah. Better certainly than our youth options, and who are within our price range and would come here, if only we were willing to spend money on them.
There are better defensive options than a Japanese centreback-leftback with only a handful of games under his belt, and who are within an affordable price range and would come here. We prefer to go cheap.
We all know this is true. And as for “not wanting to play in Scotland”, people have been getting away with that rubbish for far too long. Are we a better league that the Saudi league? The MLS? Of course we are. But top players go to their clubs for the simple reason they are willing to offer them massive wages. Once you conclude that money can change minds about the standard of the league then the only question is about what you’re willing to spend.
The barrier to us having a better team is nothing to do with the standard of the league or the crap we’re linked with being the best options we can get. It’s about an unwillingness inside our own house to spend any of that vast cash pile on a better class of footballer. This is not conjecture. This is a fact.
In the leader, Paul wrote:
‘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.’
As good a prospect as Simpson-Pusey might be, how does loaning a guy and giving him game and shop window time fit the above model, when we already have Dane Murray, Colby Donovan etc in the hoose? If we play a good Man Citeh kid, that surely keeps a CFC development project away from game time. Yes we liked Boyata and Denayer (I thought the former way better) but I cant recall us making much cash from them.
Worth noting that JSP is a right sided CB which may give us cover in case CCV’s surgery recovery gets stalled and his transfermarkt valuation is 5mill.
Hot Smoked – I don’t see why we can’t continue to scout and sign players like Jota, Maeda, Kyogo, AJ and CCV to give some recent examples. All of them improved our team and are good enough to play at a higher level than the SPFL. If we signed 3-4 more players of around their level we would be in pretty good shape for this season.
Who knows, maybe we have signed 2-3 already that will prove to be equally as good.
Sorry I forgot to say, if the move for JSP goes thru, will it likely have been a Club initiative or a Brendan one ?
QUADROPHENIAN on 30TH JULY 2025 11:06 PM
“As good a prospect as Simpson-Pusey might be, how does loaning a guy and giving him game and shop window time fit the above model”
I dont think it does at all.
QUADROPHENIAN on 30TH JULY 2025 11:15 PM
Sorry I forgot to say, if the move for JSP goes thru, will it likely have been a Club initiative or a Brendan one ?
Not this again, please :)
BURNLEY78
Thanks of the updates on the Huns future opponents. If it was anyone else and they got through you say they deserved to be there.
CELTIC40ME.
Yer point about ‘Not this again…’ struck me cos of this insider line from Paul: ‘‘Clubs need to have a development plan and….must stick to it rigorously.’
If we’re veering off Project Piste, someone has the sway to make that happen. Hence my speculation ;)
And there you go,no reply from the placeman with business interests to protect, join the dots…
BSR- For the list
It’s really difficult to sign players when the Transfer Window is open
The list.
We spend all our time during the transfer window inventing excuses why we cannot sign players 😀
Bada
‘Difficult market’ very nearly as difficult as when the window is shut. 😂
The transfer window is a real pane
A sound window is a silent window
We definitely don’t excel in windows
When the window opens. our board bag a draft.
A combination of luck, poor finishing from Greeks and poor referring from both legs is the reason They won this game. The number of times rangers players went to ground and got fouls was astounding.
A window of discontent.
WeeJoe on 30th July 2025 5:38 pm
Keviljungle, Jim MnLean was a horrible man who reputedly bullied young boys into signing long term contracts which stifled their progress in later years
%
That was awe made up by the media because he refused to take the Hun managers job. So said awe the dugs an the streets.
Woof! Woof!
I skimmed over the BBC report on hun game – certainly not playing them up and stated bluntly that a better team with that many chances would have beat them comfortably.
Victoria Plzen next for them and I hope we avoid the two bigger teams in our draw.
Looking forward to the Buddies game at the weekend 🍀💚
GOODWOOD RACING….
After FOUR Winners on Day One ( TUESDAY), I was left a wee bit frustrated on Day Two ( WEDNESDAY ), DESPITE back another FOUR Winners ( Well, THREE and a HALF ).
I had the First THREE Winners at odds of 11/2, 7/2 and 11/8 with two more selections still to run. So I was rather hopeful for my main ” LUCKY 31″ Line ?
NOTE, My 7/2 Winner was half the odds due to being in a DEAD HEAT for 1st Place.
My FOURTH Winner at 4/1 was on a different bookies line from the earlier winners.
The BIG Race of the Day was won by a 150/1 shot….and NO….I failed to back that particular winner….
LOL.
Onto Day Three at Goodwood ( THURSDAY)…. A Tricky RACE CARD Today, but I will be having a GO !
HH.
Some would have you believe that we can’t afford the players we want and don’t want the players in our price range. They would also have you believe that somehow this issue is unique to Celtic.
You can believe this if you wish, personally I believe it is just about lacking ambition and never having a plan. We want to buy low and sell high again somehow this is unique to Celtic? Well sorry I think its guff. I don’t know why we are so poor at identifying and sourcing players but the evidence is there that we are. Gaping holes in our first eleven with three days before the season starts are there for all to see.
Meekly accepting this as inevitable isn’t the way forward. Always selling before buying leaves us open to dodgy agents and the like. Waiting,waiting and waiting some more is the Celtic mantra and also leaves us open to abuse.
I’ll be there on Sunday but if things on the field go wrong and the atmosphere gets toxic it’s not the supporters fault. We are not entitled, bedwetters or spoiled with success or any of the other garbage thrown our way. We want our focus to be on a successful attractive football team not a money making machine.
We can’t let Tillio go. Just think about that.
Good morning CQN.
Hopefully a busy one today, with 2 coming in.
STEBHOY @12:52
The number of nasty fouls that Raskin and Diomande were allowed to commit last night surprised me. Our experience in Europe is that a couple of cynical fouls gets you a red card. Last nights ref was giving the fouls but not dealing with it. Strange.
I had a horrible Gut feeling that the Huns WOULD Score in Greece and qualify, so I took a 2 – 2 draw with the Bookies yesterday morning.
So I was HALF Right.
LOL.
I watched the Huns game last night and PANATHINIAKOS were CRAP over the Two legs.
TAVPEN had a bit of a nightmare last night along with the new left back Max Aarons. MAX AARONS was constantly beaten for Pace. ROTHWELL looks bang average in midfield.
SUB DESSERS, was his USUAL…missing a One on One with the Greek Goalie. DANILO is also a TIT.
That Hun ” RASKIN” is a real nuisance however….I wouldnt mind him in a Celtic squad.
Their new Hero ” GASSAMA” took his Two Goals over the Two legs very well…He is one for watching, although I would hope that AJ and/or TONY RALSTON could sort him out ?
Over the Two legs, I thought PANATHINAIKOS were BANG AVERAGE and had NO Cutting Edge in front of Goal. I am left to console myself with the thought that the Huns may end up with a BUSY Midweek schedule….IF they continue to get LUCKY ?
HH.
CALL ME GERRY on 30TH JULY 2025 6:28 PM
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.
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Excellent post 👏👏👏
Over 3 hours since you posted the above. I’ve yet to see anyone dissect and point out where you are wrong. Yet many on here think it’s easy to sign a quality player.
Strange that…
————————-/-/—//
What a lot of absolute pony……..there’s nobody to sign😂😂😂😂
There are literally 1000’s of professional footballers across all levels of abilty and price levels that are available if the deal is right so don’t talk absolute rubbish.
Where our parsimonious power brokers fall down, sorry hide behind, is the parameters of the deal – if you want x player or x level of talent but are not prepared to pay the going rate then the market is non existent and that’s just how they like it. We want a £10m player but only prepared to pay £3m what do you think is going to happen? If, in order to tempt a player that doesn’t see Scotland as most attractive option, it’s a amazing what a few extra ££s gets you and maybe a bonus end of yr 2 to sweeten the deal for a couple of seasons. Our parameters are wafer thin so it looks like we’re trying but we’re not really. A loan player with no buy option is stupid and does nothing for future planning and in this case closes a door on our own development kid. But it’s cheap and that’s all that matters.
It is a disgrace that we start a new season weaker than the previous one – we have the wherewithal and mountains of time (we all know when the windows open/close) and in my view it is a clear failure on the part of those responsible. Excusing it especially by saying there nobody we can get is Trump level BS
C’MON Celtic….give the support something to really cheer with new signings in the coming days.
Get the Feckin Finger OOT Celtic !
I am still looking forward to seeing our New Bhoy ” SHIN YAMADA” again this Sunday…IF Brendan plays him ?
HH.
On top of the lack of incoming players I am very nervous that we will sell Daizen and/or Reo.
Regardless of making CL or not I think at least one of them will go – it’s what we do.
One or both will be sold if it meets the Celtic’s valuation it’s what Celtic do, do the beancounters blink any eye not a chance the season tickets are sold so watch the money in the bank surge as the first team gets weaker, loans with no option to buy will come in on big wages passing off every other squad member.
Celtic plc is really just about the money football is secondary, this is an utter shambles of the direction of the club.
c*nts – every day of the week
https://substack.com/@brunnowallace/note/c-140551489?r=bc5xc&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Well, one step closer to – possibly! – getting some better players in…..
Big Jimmy on 31st July 2025 6:25 am
GOODWOOD
The bhoy backed it £1 ew 150/1
£1.50 ew at 85/1 3 places
He said Tues night it was the only one with soft ground form…
I smiled and said good luck with that then…🙄
Sorry ew at 45/1 ,3 places
Good morning all.
Big Jimmy on 31st July 2025 7:53 am
BJ I watched most of their game last night (I like to have a look at what they are playing like)
You’re assessment is spot on, you should be a reporter – great review
67ECW