It’s fairly well known that some of the wages on offer down south are mind blowing. Southampton might just prove to be the best example of how much the Premier League’s money is distorting things in the UK.
Mohamed Elyounoussi has been an absolute star for Celtic this season, to the point he’s become one of the first names on the team sheet. He’s managed seven goals and six assists in only 12 games, and he’s looked good on the European stage as well.
Realistically a team in the latter stages of the Europa League should be able to sign someone out of favour at a team fighting relegation somewhere, but the finances that Southampton can offer make that more complicated.
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According to a report from The Independent, they would be willing to take a financial hit to let him go, but his £70k a week wages would also be a problem for Celtic. The Telegraph reported that Southampton signed him for £16m, but the Independent story suggests they would let him go for “only” £10m.
When you bear in mind that the BBC reported the club record fee to sign Eddy was around £8m, that would mean Celtic would need to break that record again to sign the Norwegian on a permanent basis.
It would obviously take a huge commitment from the board to commit to his signing but it could be worth it in the long run. The big thing would be his wages, that would need some kind of agreement with Southampton where they continue to pay some of them for the length of his contract, but they might need to get him off their wage bill.
The prospect of Elyounoussi, Christie and Forrest playing behind Edouard for another couple of seasons at least is a mouth watering one. There’s a real chance that entering the Champions League campaign with a settled squad would make a major difference and qualifying for the group stages would be more likely.
If they managed that, then the prize money would cover that transfer fee instantly.
