We’ve seen it many times before where Celtic can pay a good level of transfer fee, but it’s often the wages that clubs down south can offer that blows them out the water.
It’s frustrating when you see some very average players who earn a lot more than some of the stars in the Celtic team, so it does make a lot of Premier League players unattainable.
There’s been a bit of talk about Eddie Howe attracting Josh King to Celtic this summer as a replacement for Eddy if he does take the job, and Football Insider spoke to Gabriel Agbonlahor about it happening.
He’s a good player and his pace could be a real asset, but the former Aston Villa striker suggests that King is looking for an eye-watering weekly wage:
“I don’t see Everton taking up the deal to sign him for longer because he hasn’t really played much. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, I don’t see it going that way.
“Maybe it will be one that Eddie Howe will look at for either Celtic or Crystal Palace when he gets the job.
“His wage demands are something like £120,000-a-week, I’m hearing. So he would have to lower those wage demands to get the move he wants.
“There’s a lot that could happen but for me, he’s going to have to maybe half his wage demands to get a move this summer.”
Even if he does half those demands to a mere £60k per week that’s still far too much for Celtic to match.
There are suggestions that Celtic pay Eddy £20k per week just now so that gives you an idea of how absurd King’s demands would be.
If Celtic want to give a striker £60k a week then you have to think Eddy would be happy to stay for another season or two at that rate, so surely just throw it all at him instead?
It’s also worth pointing out that King will turn 30 next season and he’s a striker who largely relies on his pace, so there won’t be much of a sell-on value for Celtic there either.
King is a prime example of a player who would be a good, maybe even great signing for Celtic, but those Premier League wage demands are unrealistic and they’ll ultimately need to look elsewhere unless he’s willing to take an even more drastic pay-cut.
