It seems that everything that had a Celtic touch has now turned to gold. The club’s latest annual report revealed it had a record £77m in the bank. And that was before the cash from this year’s Champions League campaign (just over £40m) started cascading down.
The news on the streets of Merseyside would make the club’s finance chief Chris Mackay smile.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold showing no signs of extending his contract at Liverpool, the Reds have placed Jeremy Frimpong at the top of their list of potential replacements.
Frimpong left Celtic for Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021 for £11m and hasn’t looked back since. He was part of the team that won the Bundesliga last season without a single defeat.
Liverpool are willing to pay £34.7m, which would free him from a contract that runs until 2028.
It seems everything Celtic touches has now turned to gold, with the club having a record £77million in the bank.
Trent Alexander-Arnold shows no signs of extending his contract at Liverpool and the Reds are searching for a replacement.
Bayer Leverkusen talent Jeremy Frimpong is on the radar – and Celtic could still turn a profit
Celtic cleverly inserted a clause guaranteeing they would receive 30 per cent of any profit the German club made. This will put another £7.1m on its way to Parkhead.
Excavations in Celtic archives
The 1996-97 season did not have much to cheer about for Celtic fans. Despite the best efforts of the late Tommy Barnes and madman Paolo Di Canio, the club was unable to prevent Rangers from equaling their record of nine consecutive titles.
However, one thing that made a favorable impression on fans that year was the team’s eye-catching green and black horizontal stripes away uniform, known colloquially as the Bumblebee.
The success was such that the club recovered the look for the 2009-10 campaign.
Despite another massive collapse that year under Tony Mowbray, it seems the club is now hoping that third time’s the charm for Bumblebee.
It is understood Brendan Rodgers’ side will wear a similarly designed kit when they hit the road in the 2025-26 season.
The crazy Paolo Di Canio could not prevent Rangers from equaling their record of nine consecutive titles in 1997.
But the club’s away shirt, repeated for the 2009–10 campaign (pictured), made a favorable impression on fans and was returned the following season.
Is an imminent solution behind us?
The identity of Celtic’s left-back next season is already consuming fans.
Greg Taylor is out of contract. Brendan Rodgers wants to keep him but there are no signs of success.
Alex is very impressed. Celtic will hold talks with parent club Barcelona to make the deal permanent, although the lack of an agreed fee means a deal remains elusive.
Kieran Tierney has been rumored to be returning to his spiritual home since the Arsenal man attended a recent Celtic charity event in London.
While these options are the most obvious, there could be another solution in the form of Alessandro Bernabeu.
The Argentine signed for Lanús for £3.75m two years ago, when Ange Postecoglou was coach. He made 28 appearances and then disappeared when Rodgers was in charge last season.
When the defender moved on loan to Brazilian club Internacional earlier this year, it was thought he would never set foot in Glasgow again.
But the 24-year-old has been a revelation in Porto Alegre, with a man-of-the-match performance in the weekend’s win over Fluminense.
Left-back Greg Taylor ends his contract at Celtic Park at the end of the current campaign
But the solution to the club’s growing crisis could be in defender Alessandro Bernabéu
Even Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni has been urged to call him up to the senior team for the first time.
With his loan deal set to expire in January, Rodgers will surely give Barnaby a second chance to impress before deciding on his future.
The costs of the south stand remain very high
Celtic have yet to decide what to do about the growing need to solve the South Stand problem.
The main stand is now the oldest part of the stadium, having been built in its original form in 1929. The club used money deposited by the Lisbon Lions to refurbish the structure in 1971. They also built a new façade in 1988.
However, the first thing opponents see when they show up on a European night is a cramped, outdated company, with women’s toilets, reception and press facilities. And the board is aware of the need to address the issue at some point.
Despite all the cash in the bank, the core problem never changes. cost
Estimates for a new stand are around £80m. Another important consideration is where just under 8,000 subscribers will sit once the work is completed.
If the work is ever carried out, it seems unlikely that the steel will come from China.
The Parkhead team dreams big in Europe
Callum McGregor has explained the extent of Celtic’s Champions League ambitions and that there is no reason not to aim for a top eight finish in the new table.
As far as their Aston colleagues are concerned, the Parkhead team are already the kings of Europe in one important category: their fans make noise on big match nights.
The Aston manager believes Celtic are already kings of Europe in one key category: the mere words of their fans.
In a special on the club’s television channel, the American defender was asked if he agreed with the statement that Celtic fans make more noise than anyone else in football.
“I agree,” he responded. “I think Dortmund vs Celtic was crazy. They have two big fan bases. Celtic playing at Celtic Park is crazy. It’s actually crazy.’
Team-mate Liam Scales is another who has been impressed by the atmosphere of the Celtic fans in this Champions League campaign.
“Even in the away game against Atalanta, the noise that the Celtic fans make when the music starts… you can hear it in small parts more than the Atalanta fans and I think it shows,” the Irishman said.
