Celtic must not return to expensive loan deals as a transfer strategy

The loan market has been an effective tool for Celtic over the years.

From players such as Craig Bellamy, Robbie Keane and Patrick Roberts to the try-before-you-buy model which allows the club to gauge individuals before choosing to exercise their option to purchase them. Some of Celtic’s most impactful players have come to the club through both of these means.

The latter loan manoeuvre worked in both ways, with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota both signing permanently at the conclusion of their collective spells, whilst less successful temporary acquisitions like Oliver Abildgaard and Moritz Jenz were allowed to return to their parent clubs after failing to merit a permanent stay. By testing the water with these signings, the club takes less of a risk by not needing to persevere with a player.

The way that Celtic operate now in recruitment has seemed to change over the past few years, with more of an emphasis being put on young players joining the club – either first on loan or permanently – and developing before being sold on for a sizable profit in the medium to long-term future.

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Take the example of Jota, who joined from Benfica on loan in 2021, with an option to buy attached to his deal. After impressing in his debut season with Celtic, the club then purchased the player outright from his parent club before being sold on for a healthy profit this summer to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Professional League.

The many millions that Celtic have made off of this single deal must indicate to the club that this model of recruitment evidently works. So, when the club gets linked to English Premier League talents such as Donny van de Beek and former player Kieran Tierney, you cannot help but roll your eyes a bit in response.

These moves make little to no sense at all for Celtic, apart from the players’ quality on the pitch. There is no doubt that van de Beek and Tierney are both top-quality professionals who have performed at an elite level over the course of their respective careers. Indeed, it was the former’s displays in the Champions League that prompted Manchester United to shell out £35 million for the Dutchman’s services.

His time in England has not gone according to plan. He has made only 60 appearances in total for the club, despite the hefty price tag attached to his name, with a failed loan spell at Everton further compounding his miserable spell in England. Even his reunion with former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag has failed to reignite the form that made him such a highly-rated player, only managing three goals in his stints in Manchester and Liverpool, respectively.

For Tierney, Celtic know all about what the left-back can bring to the table, having made 170 appearances for the club in all competitions. The Scotland international has been in and out of the Arsenal side since his arrival in 2019 due to various injuries and the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who Mikel Arteta has preferred to play when both are fit.

Both of the linked players are 26 years old and are entering the prime of their respective careers. Yes, they could be the potential difference-makers in the group stages of the Champions League, but at what cost?

Of course, both players linked would no doubt improve the squad that Brendan Rodgers is building at the club. However, they would make little sense. With the recent permanent signings of Odin Thiago Holm and Marco Tilio, Celtic are very much gearing to the future with regard to their future assets. These players will be nursed into the squad before hopefully morphing into decent assets for the club to sell on in the future.

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With these new signings, it is vitally important that they have a clear pathway into the first team in order to continue the progression of the transfer strategy put in place. Bringing in temporary loans will only halt the progress of potential assets making their first steps into the first team whilst also displacing the players already there.

For example, if Van de Beek was to sign for Celtic on loan, then one of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley would have to make way in order for him to play. For the latter pair, the club will be hoping for a healthy profit when they decide to move to new pastures eventually. Placing the out-of-sorts Dutchman in the team ahead of these players will only depreciate their value in the long run, in turn starting a domino effect in market values.

Although Tierney would likely stroll into the starting XI, his presence would no doubt stall the progress of those already in that position, particularly Alexandro Bernabei. Celtic paid £3.75 million for the Argentine, a large outlay for a player who has not yet made the grade at the club thus far. It is not controversial to say that the jury is very much out on Bernabei, but surely Celtic will be hoping to get a tune out of the player rather than bring in a stopgap signing in his or Greg Taylor’s place?

In short, Celtic should choose to stick with the model that has been working well in the recent past. Signing young players permanently or bringing in loans with an option to buy is the way the club should continue to operate in the transfer market.

Their model is not broken, so they should look to avoid going down this route in order to safeguard their assets in the process.

This piece is an extract from the latest Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

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