Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has told the Daily Record that he fears it may require £60m worth of transfers for Celtic to climb back to the top of Scottish football after this disastrous season and the mass exodus that is expected to come in the summer.
Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer are all said to be keen on a move and have been attracting interest from other clubs. Meanwhile, a number of squad players are in doubtful positions, whilst Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham’s futures at the club are not clear.
Sutton told the Record Celtic Podcast: “There needs to be patience from the support for the new man because of the condition the club is in at this moment in time. Patience is the most important thing. Celtic are going to go through some hard yards next season, in my opinion. Hopefully, they’ll come out the following season and really be able to push. But this rebuild isn’t going to happen overnight. It isn’t going to be a click of the fingers.”
For an instant bounce back and for Celtic to reclaim the Premiership crown next season, Sutton feels it’d take a miracle. “That would be absolute miracle stuff unless Dermot Desmond turns around and says, ‘Well I’m backing the manager to a tune of £50 or £60 million to allow signings to come in to really push Rangers’, because that is the sort of money, maybe even more, that it will take to really go shoulder to shoulder with Rangers.”
When asked if the rebuild really would require that level of funding, Sutton remarked: “I don’t think it would take as much as that. I know it . The fact of the matter is I’ve spoken about the players who are going to leave in Edouard, Christie, Ajer. They have talented players such as Callum McGregor, David Turnbull, James Forrest. Christopher Jullien will come back eventually and hopefully he’ll be the same player as that would be a massive bonus as they have missed him. But Celtic need wholesale changes. Therefore, everything needs to be right for Celtic to challenge again and that’s not going to happen in one month or two months.”
Many supporters feel that the club need to sign a new right back, a goalkeeper, centre back, left back, central midfielder, winger and striker. In addition, the departures will need to be replaced. As such, Sutton’s comments may well be true.
A rebuild to that extent means the European qualifiers are liable to be tough. “We’ll be watching the Champions League qualifiers through the fingers again. It’s going to be a hard, hard watch,” Sutton said. “Celtic need to aim and push to try and get in as the financial impact will help, but I do think that patience is going to be the key for next season and possibly beyond and the manager needs time to build a foundation and build the club.”
