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It seems that everything Celta touches right now turns to gold. The club’s latest annual report revealed there was a record £77m in the bank. And that was before the cash from this year’s Champions League campaign (just over £40m) starts cascading in.
The news on the streets of Merseyside will also make the club’s finance chief Chris McKay smile.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold showing no signs of extending his contract at Liverpool, the Reds have placed Jeremie 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 the 34.7 million pounds that would free him from a contract that extends until 2028.
It seems like everything Celtic touches at the moment turns to gold, with the club holding 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 Jeremie Frimpong is on the radar, and Celtic could still cash in
Celtic cleverly inserted a clause guaranteeing they will receive 30 per cent of any profit the German club makes. That would mean another £7.1m would come to Parkhead.
Celtic investigate files
There wasn’t much to cheer Celtic fans on in the 1996-97 season. Despite the best efforts of the late Tommy Burns and the mad Paolo Di Canio, the club was unable to prevent the Rangers from equaling their record of nine consecutive titles.
However, one thing that did make a favorable impression on fans that year was the team’s eye-catching away uniform, with green and black horizontal stripes, known colloquially as the bumblebee.
In fact, the success was such that the club recovered the look for the 2009-10 campaign.
Although that year under Tony Mowbray was another huge disappointment, it seems the club are now hoping it will be the third time charmed for the bumblebee.
It is understood Brendan Rodgers’ side will wear a kit with a similar design when they hit the road in the 2025-26 season.
In 1997, the crazy Paolo Di Canio could not prevent Rangers from equaling their record of nine consecutive titles.
But the club’s away jersey, repeated for the 2009-10 campaign (pictured), made a favorable impression among fans and will return next season.
An imminent solution at left back?
The identity of Celtic’s left-back next season is already consuming his fans.
Greg Taylor is out of contract. Brendan Rodgers wants to keep him but there are no signs of a breakthrough.
Alex Valle has impressed. Celtic will hold talks with their parent club Barcelona about making the deal permanent, although the lack of an agreed fee means reaching a deal is difficult.
Rumors that Kieran Tierney will return to his spiritual home have increased since the Arsenal man recently attended a Celtic charity function in London.
While those options are the most obvious, there could well be another solution in the form of Alexandro Bernabei.
The Argentine arrived from Lanús for £3.75m when Ange Postecoglou was coach two years ago. He made 28 appearances and then disappeared when Rodgers was in charge last season.
When the defender went out on loan to Brazilian club Internacional earlier this year, it was assumed he would never set foot in Glasgow again.
But the 24-year-old has been a revelation in Porto Alegre, taking man of the match 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 found in defender Alexandro Bernabei
Now there are even calls for Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni to call him up to the senior team for the first time.
With his loan deal expiring in January, Rodgers will surely give Bernabei a second chance to impress before making a decision on his future.
South Stand costs still too high
Celtic are yet to decide what to do about the growing need to address the South Stand issue.
The main stand is now the oldest part of the stadium, built in its original form in 1929. The club used money deposited by the Lisbon Lions to renovate the structure in 1971. They also built a new façade in 1988.
However, with corporate facilities, women’s toilets, reception and press outdated and restricted, the stand is the first thing opponents see when they turn up on European nights. And the board is aware of the need to address the issue at some point.
Despite all that money in the bank, the bottom line never changes. Cost.
Estimates for a new stand are around £80m. Another important consideration is where to seat just under 8,000 subscribers while the works are carried out.
If work continues, it seems unlikely that the steel will come from China.
The Parkhead group dreams big in Europe
Callum McGregor has summed up the magnitude of Celtic’s Champions League ambition by insisting there is no reason why they shouldn’t aim for a top eight finish in the new table.
As for team-mate Auston Trusty, the Parkhead side are already kings of Europe in one key respect: the sheer volume of noise their fans make on big match nights.
Auston Trusty believes Celtic are already the kings of Europe in one key aspect: the sheer volume of fan noise.
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 replied. “I think Dortmund against Celtic was crazy. Those are the two biggest fan bases. Playing against Celtic at Celtic Park is crazy. “It’s actually crazy.”
Team-mate Liam Scales is another who has been impressed by the atmosphere created by 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 could hear it in the small section more than among the Atalanta fans and I think that shows it,” he said. the irish