One of the biggest problems for Celtic in the transfer market is the wage demands of players in the modern era. They might be able to pay reasonable transfer fees, but clubs down south will happily throw millions of pounds a year at average players and it completely distorts the market.
It just doesn’t make sense for Celtic to start handing out huge contracts, any player could get injured or lose form and the financial burden would be huge for the club.
It’s starting to sound like Fraser Forster might have a decision to make between earning Premier League wages or competing for trophies and being a key player at Celtic.
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According to a report in The Evening Times, Southampton gave Fraser Forster a new contract worth around £70k per week in 2016. They suggest this was in response to interest from Manchester United, so they gave the big keeper a pay rise to convince him to stay.
Obviously that’s backfired as he lost form down south and couldn’t get anywhere near the first team. It also shows how ridiculous the financial gulf is when a very average team can easily afford to carry a third choice keeper on £70k per week.
The report goes on to suggest that Celtic have a clause in his loan deal that allows them to sign him on a permanent basis, but they will struggle to match those wage demands.
It’s not clear what will happen next Summer, Forster has been outstanding so far this season so Celtic should do everything they can to sign him on a permanent basis.
It looks like some compromise will need to be found from both sides if they want to get a deal done.