Celtic enjoyed a busy end to the summer transfer window last week with three new additions to their first-team squad on deadline day on Friday.
The Hoops dipped into the market to snap up Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, and Auston Trusty from Augsburg, Dundee, and Sheffield United respectively on permanent deals, in an attempt to bolster Brendan Rodgers’ options across the park.
Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, Alex Valle, Kasper Schmeichel, and Viljami Sinisalo had already been added to the group prior to deadline day, with all bar Valle coming in as permanent signings.
The Scottish giants showed their ambition in the summer transfer window by smashing their club-record on Engels, who they have reportedly paid £11m for, eclipsing the £9m spent on Odsonne Edouard from PSG in 2018.
Celtic and Rodgers will now hope that their investment pays off in the coming months and years, with the Belgian whiz performing on the pitch and raising his own value to potentially be sold on for a big profit in the future.
The Scottish Premiership champions invested that money after they lost central midfielder Matt O’Riley to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, in a deal that cemented a masterclass by the club.
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley masterclass
At the start of 2022, former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou swooped to sign the Danish talent from English League One side MK Dons for a reported fee of £1.5m.
The young midfielder, who had started his career with Fulham, had racked up ten goals and eight assists in 54 appearances for the third tier outfit.
O’Riley hit the ground running in Scotland, with a return of four goals and two assists in his first 16 Scottish Premiership outings, and managed three goals and 12 assists in his first full league season in the 2022/23 campaign.
The superb maestro then enjoyed his best year in a Celtic jersey in what turned out to be his final season with the club under Brendan Rodgers last term.
| 23/24 Premiership | Matt O’Riley | Squad rank |
|---|---|---|
| Sofascore rating | 7.91 | 1st |
| Goals | 18 | 1st |
| Assists | 13 | 1st |
| Big chances created | 14 | 1st |
| Key passes per game | 2.5 | 1st |
| Stats via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, O’Riley was the biggest attacking threat in the entire squad in the 2023/24 campaign, when it came to both scoring and creating goals.
The central midfielder ranked first in virtually every key direct attacking statistics in the Premiership, with 31 goal contributions in the top-flight to help the team to another league title.
His sublime form in Scotland attracted interest from down south and Brighton eventually secured a £25m deal to sign the Denmark international last month.
That transfer cemented a masterclass by Celtic as they turned a £1.5m signing from the third tier of English football into a £25m player for a Premier League club, which is the perfect example of their player development model working to full effect.
It was a Scottish, and Celtic, transfer record fee of £25m but that does not mean that it was the most valuable sale in the history of the club, as transfer fees have inflated over the years.
One player who was sold for more than O’Riley, if you account for that inflation, was prolific centre-forward Pierre van Hooijdonk, who the Bhoys also played a blinder with.
How much Celtic paid for Pierre van Hooijdonk
The Scottish giants swooped to sign the number nine from Dutch side NAC Breda for a reported fee of £1.2m in January 1995 by manager Tommy Burns.
Van Hooijdonk was snapped up by Celtic after his impressive run of form in his home country, with a return of 44 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions for NAC.
The Netherlands international had plundered an eye-catching ten goals in 16 outings in the Dutch top-flight during the first half of the 1994/95 campaign, which convinced the Hoops to sign him for £1.2m.
That came after van Hooijdonk had fired in 29 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for NAC during the 1993/94 season, including 25 goals in 31 league matches
The sensational forward then enjoyed a terrific spell with Celtic in Scotland, scoring 52 goals in 84 matches in all competitions, and earned a mega money move away from Parkhead.
How much Celtic sold van Hooijdonk for in today’s money
Per Totally Money, Premier League side Nottingham Forest swooped in to sign the Netherlands international from Celtic for a fee of £5.4m in 1997.
Transfer fees in football have significantly inflated over the subsequent years and, as per Totally Money’s algorithm, that £5.4m would be worth a staggering £39.4m in today’s money.
Leave a Reply