DUNDEE UNITED are in line for a vital £400,000 windfall if Stuart Armstrong’s proposed transfer from Celtic to Southampton proceeds.
Armstrong was given permission to formally speak to the Saints by Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell and the move is likely to be concluded shortly.
The deal will cost Southampton up to £10million with an initial £4million being paid to Celtic. Dundee United will benefit from their 10% sell-on clause so will earn £400k from the transfer. This money could be vital in keeping the Tannadice outfit afloat after their failure to get out of the Championship, losing to Livingston in the Play-offs.
Southampton will pay around £3million to the player in wages and this represents a significant jump in earnings for the Celtic star who was not among the top earners at Parkhead.
Armstrong’s weekly wage will jump from around £15k to just over £50k and with the numbers you start to see why he’s been so keen on a move to England’s Premier League. He has never been on the kind of wages earned by the likes of Scott Brown, Moussa Dembele or Kieran Tierney.
Southampton narrowly avoided relegation last season – they finished in 17th spot just above the drop-zone and this investment in yet another Celtic player is designed to make sure they don’t come that close to a catastrophic relegation next time around.
Celtic will benefit from substantial add-ons within the deal which are based around Saints staying in the Premier League and Armstrong playing in a sufficient number of matches.
There will also be a sell-on clause should Saints sell him on to Liverpool – who usually buy their best players – or one of the other top Premier League sides.
There was a comment on social media that simply said, referring to their move, that Celtic had now paid for French Eddie as a result of Armstrong’s proposed move.
That deal was mentioned as a £10million transfer – we kept saying that Celtic were paying £4.5million for Edouard upfront with the rest in add-ons, such as Champions League group stage qualification and Odsonne earning a full French cap.
So that’s the two ‘£10million deals’ explained. Here’s some additional comments of Stuart Armstrong…
Stuart Armstrong at Celtic
Games: 144
Starts: 107
Goals: 28
Assists: 25
Trophies: 8 pic.twitter.com/8gMUmEcvhj— Focus on Celtic (@FocusOnCeltic) June 22, 2018
If I win the Euromillions tonight can I pay the £7m to keep this going @paulthetim @ByTheMinCeltic @celtic @JGlasgowCelticK @CeltsAreHere @celtic pic.twitter.com/lccPO9Tjba
— Robbie Paul (@Bawheidbob) June 22, 2018
For me Armstrong was a mixed bag at Celtic, however he did contribute to some magical moments ie 2 goals vs Inter, the 5th in the 5-1 against Rangers at CP and the equaliser in the Cup Final against Aberdeen.
Good luck to him.— ????????????????????????????????Stephen Wray???????????? (@CelticRockRoars) June 22, 2018
The Jimmy Johnstone Academy with A Celtic State of Mind (Part 2/2)
Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham are joined this week by two very special guests who are integral to the success of the Jimmy Johnstone Academy and Charitable Trust.
In the second part of a two-part special, Jim Simonette and Simon Farrelly discuss the Greatest Ever Celt, the discovery of Darnell Fisher, Bertie Auld the boss, establishing the JJ Charitable Trust, and recording Dirty Old Town with Simple Minds.
The Celtic Star Podcast – A Celtic State of Mind has gone from strength-to-strength over the last year, and there are many more guests lined up in the weeks ahead from the world of sport, music, film, art, broadcasting, literature and politics. The podcast recently won the prestigious 2018 Football Blogging Award for the UK’s Best Podcast.
Connect with A Celtic State of Mind @PaulDykes, @anorthernprose and @ACSOMPOD and subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or through your podcast player.
Listen to Part 2 of The Jimmy Johnstone Academy with A Celtic State of Mind below and if you missed part one that is a little further down. This is emotional stuff so don’t be surprised if you shed a tear or two while listening.
