Celtic’s Broken Window and the £19.3m Damage Done

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The Celtic Star

·19. Juni 2025

Celtic’s Broken Window and the £19.3m Damage Done

With the summer transfer window open since Monday, it seems Celtic are – possibly – quite busy behind the scenes…

Benjamin Nygren. Photo Imago

With Benjamin Nygren perhaps the most exciting of all the players linked so far, and with the deal apparently close to being concluded, Celtic have already signed Kieran Tierney, which would indicate at least two first team signings will be in place for the start of pre-season training.

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That’s good news for Brendan Rodgers who has often had to wait until late in the transfer window to see his signings arrive at the club, impacting the physical and tactical work he can put into the players ahead of the new season.

Callum Osmand of Fulham U21, U 21 scores the teams 1st goal during the U21 Premier League Cup final match between Fulham U21 and Tottenham Hotspur U21 at Craven Cottage, London, England on 16 May 2024. Photo Andy Rowlandx PMI

Celtic it appears are also doing a bit of work in raising the floor level of squad players at the club, with Scott Bain heading to Falkirk and Ross Doohan due to be announced as signing from Aberdeen as his replacement. Meanwhile 19-year-old Fulham striker Callum Osmand appears to be the new back-up striker to Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.

It will be interesting to see how Johnny Kenny is impacted by that signing, perhaps he will move out on loan, or it may be the club will look to shift Kenny out on a permanent basis.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha during the Belgian “Pro League” First Division football match between Royal Antwerp FC and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise at Bosuil-Stadium in Antwerp on March 17, 2024. (Photo by KRISTOF VAN ACCOM/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images)

Celtic are also said to be in talks to sign Michel-Ange Balikwisha, a winger from Antwerp, and apparently with a fee of £5m attached.

Balikwisha certainly seems keen on the move with his social media output perhaps pointing to the player wanting the move, it will now just be down to Celtic to agree the fee with his club as it seems personal terms won’t be an issue.

It all looks promising, and as ever the support is anticipating much from this transfer window, but there always remains that sense of foreboding, of an obstacle or two on the road, or even a distrust when it comes to Celtic’s eye for a player.

So where do we stand now compared to Brendan Rodgers first transfer window, which you will remember, he had very little to do with the new arrivals and basically was left to work with what he was given.

This will be Brendan Rodgers fourth transfer window since rejoining the club. The first in the summer of 2023 was something of a disaster for Celtic, with the following 10 players signed up for a total –excluding loan fees – of £19.3m, yes that’s right £19.3m! And don’t forget the wages and the five year deals most of the signings were given.

Celtic v Dundee United – Paulo Bernardo during the Premiership match at Celtic Park. Saturday September 16, 2023.Photo Andrew Milligan

Paulo Bernardo, (loan) from Benfica, September 2023

Nat Phillips, (loan) from Liverpool, August 2023

Luis Palma, £3.5m from Aris Thessaloniki, August 2023

Gustaf Lagerbielke, £3m from Elfsborg, August 2023

Maik Nawrocki, £4.3m from Legia Warsaw, July 2023

29th July 2023 Aviva Stadium, Dublin Pre Season Friendly, Celtic versus Wolverhampton Wanderers – Hyeokkyu Kwon of Celtic FC looking for a way through the defence. Photo ActionPlus Peter Fitzpatrick

Kwon Hyeok-kyu, £1m from Busan I-Park, July 2023

Yang Hyun-jun, £2m from Gangwon FC, July 2023

Tomoki Iwata, £1m from Yokohama Marinos, June 2023

Marco Tilio arrives at Celtic. Photo Celtic FC

Marco Tilio, £2m from Melbourne City, June 2023

Odin Thiago Holm, £2.5m from Valerenga, June 2023

Forgive me if I’ve missed anyone out, and the transfer fees are as per BBC. So again if they are incorrect, it won’t be by much.

That £19.3m outlay on transfer fees is a significant sum, as it pretty much soaked up Celtic’s share of the Jota to Al-Ittihad transfer income (£25m) once Benfica’s share is deducted. Only Yang and Bernardo have given Celtic any real value for money so far. A poor exchange rate.

By January 2024, Brendan Rodgers – on the back of that previous summer window – appears at least to have limited the incomings, with Adam Idah joining on loan from Norwich and Nicolas Kuhn £2.5m from Rapid Vienna.

It was an uninspiring transfer window, which even saw the Celtic chairman all but apologise for the lack of transfer activity. Some six weeks later, his son Mark resigned as Celtic’s head of first-team scouting and recruitment.

The two signings did however contribute to Celtic and there was little in the way of waste we saw from Rodgers first transfer window.

Paul Tisdale the manager of Bristol Rovers looks on during the FA Cup Second Round match between Bristol Rovers and Darlington FC at the Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2020 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Mark Lawwell was replaced, initially on a consultancy basis by Paul Tisdale for the summer transfer window of 2024, before the so-called ‘football doctor’, took up the role officially in October 2024.

In the summer window of 2024, Celtic sold Matt O’Riley for around £25m, with extras expected to nudge that figure nearer the £30m in time, perhaps even this summer if the rumours of Italian interest in O’Riley come to fruition (Napoli bid €30m today for the former Celt). Although it should be noted sell on fees in the main are a percentage of the profit on a subsequent transfer, not on the full transfer fee.

Last summer saw Celtic sign eight players, for a total of £32m, excluding the £1.3m loan fee we paid to Barcelona for Alex Valle.

Luke McCowan, £1m from Dundee, August 2024, Arne Engels, £11m from Augsburg, August 2024. Auston Trusty, £6m from Sheffield United, August 2024, Alex Valle, (£1.3m loan fee) from Barcelona, Aug 2024.* (We might have got a refund as we allowed his deal to be ended in January to suit the Como interest and subsequent signing of the full-back). Adam Idah, £9.5m from Norwich City, August 2024, Paulo Bernardo, £3.5m from Benfica, July 2024. Kasper Schmeichel, free from Anderlecht, July 2024 Viljami Sinisalo, £1m from Aston Villa, July 2024.

*We may well have got a refund as we allowed his deal to be ended in January to suit the Como interest and subsequent signing of the full-back and that money may well have been the Celtic contribution to Jeffrey Schlupp’s wages.

All eight players contributed to Celtic’s success last season, and although it would be a debate as to how good each player was amongst the support, Celtic at least signed a group of players the manager trusted – and used regularly than in his first transfer window.

In January of this year, it was another relatively quiet transfer window for Celtic. Out went Kyogo to Rennes, meanwhile Alex Valle ended his loan deal early to join Como. That brought Celtic in around £8m.

Jeffrey Schlupp, photo Celtic FC

We then signed two players. Jeffrey Schlupp, (loan) from Crystal Palace, February 2025, and Jota returned, for £8m also from Rennes in January 2025.

Roughly, we broke even on that transfer window, and although Kyogo wasn’t directly replaced, the return of Jota was celebrated and was a good opportunity spotted and executed by the club.

The difference in signings from Brendan Rodgers first transfer window until now is marked. Since January 2024 almost all of Celtic’s signings have contributed positively to the club. And it is that which offer the most confidence ahead of this transfer window.

What we did get wrong, arguably, last season was the delay in getting deals done. It cost the club money, and it left the manager without players for vital pre-season preparations. If we can get a handle on that this season, then perhaps the progression in the club’s recruitment can continue on an upward trajectory this summer.

The summer window of 2023 will still have many supporters worried. After all Jota’s exit to Saudi Arabia that summer equalled our club record sale. It was to all intents and purposes a wasted transfer fee.

Brendan Rodgers Celtic Glasgow, Press Conference, Germany. International Press Conference, Celtic Glasgow, Football, UEFA Champions League,, 17 02 2025, Munich Photo Eibner-Presse foto/Jenni Maul

Since then, and particularly since Rodgers and Tisdale began working together, things have improved.

Whether we as supporters are fully convinced by all the players is another debate. What is certain now is the manager is being backed, and he is happy to use the players we’ve bought, be it as squad players or first team starters. That wasn’t the case in the summer of 2023.

This summer is a big one for Celtic and for the manager. It will be the first transfer window where Tisdale and Rodgers have worked together outside Tisdale’s original consultancy period, but I think we can see even from that window why Paul Tisdale was signed up permanently. It also arguably highlights why employing the chairman’s son to a role he’d never held before was something of an error of judgement.

The only real blight since Mark Lawwell left his post has been the timely manner of the transfer business done. That needs to be addressed this summer and outside of the incomings themselves is perhaps that last remaining roadblock to Celtic having a coherent and synergised recruitment strategy.

Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive of Celtic FC looks on from the stands prior to the Premiership match between Celtic FC and St Mirren FC at Celtic Park on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

That of course will come down to our CEO and his ability to get deals done and to manage upwards when it comes to a certain significant shareholder.

No easy task I’m sure, but when you are Celtic CEO managing up the food chain is just as important as managing those below your paygrade.

Niall J

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