Celtic transfers: How much Celtic have made from player sales since 2018 versus how much has been spent

What the figures from last six years show amid criticism of Parkhead recruitment policy

Celtic are preparing to overhaul their scouting department following the announcement that head of recruitment Mark Lawwell and lead first-team scout Joe Dudgeon are departing their roles.

The pair have been placed on gardening leave until the end of the season with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers set to work with a new recruitment team going into the summer transfer window. Lawwell, the son of chairman Peter, who was appointed in 2022, had come under fire from sections of the Celtic support for the club's perceived failings over the past two transfer windows.

Only one of Celtic’s seven, largely young and inexperienced, summer signings, Luis Palma, has got into double figures in league starts, following the loss of regular starters Jota, Aaron Mooy and Carl Starfelt. Celtic signed only two players in the most recent transfer window – on-loan Norwich striker Adam Idah and former Rapid Vienna winger Nicolas Kuhn – leaving fans unhappy with the level of investment in the squad as Rangers overhauled them at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Celtic have spent around £30m less on transfers than they have received since 2018, according to figures on transfermarkt.com. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

There is also apparent frustration over the Celtic accounts showing a record revenue of £85.2m for the final six months of last year and a bank balance of £67.3m. The perception being that more money should have been spent strengthening the squad in pursuit of the lucrative spot in the new Champions League group stage format which comes into place next season.

But how much money have Celtic actually spent on transfers in recent tmes, and how much has been recouped in player sales? Is the criticism justified?

According to transfermarkt.com, Celtic have spent roughly £29m less than they have received in transfer fees over the past six years stretching back to the summer of 2018. The figures show that the club banked £141.66m for player departures over that period, covering 12 transfer windows, with £112.5m spent on new additions to the squad.

The sales of Jota to Al-Ittihad last summer and Kieran Tierney to Arsenal in 2019 account for £50m of the income with the pair each sold for a club record £25m. Other large fees recouped include £18m from Lyon for Moussa Dembele in 2018, £14m from Crystal Palace for Odsonne Edouard in 2021, £13.5m from Brentford for Kristoffer Ajer the same summer, and £7.5m from Union Berlin for Josip Juranovic in January last year.

Celtic's biggest transfer spends over the same period have been £9m on Edouard from PSG in 2018, £7m on Christopher Julien from Toulouse the following year, and the £6.5m spent on Jota from Benfica and £6m on Cameron Carter-Vickers from Spurs in the summer of 2022.

The figures suggest that Celtic have spent just over 20 per cent less on transfers than they generated in player sales, which can either be viewed as shrewd business management, given the financial health of the club, or an imbalance in favour of making money rather than investing it.

What cannot be argued is the success Celtic have had in selling players for significant profit with Matt O'Riley – the subject of a failed £18m bid from Atletico Madrid in January – likely to become the next big-money departure having joined the club for £1.5m from MK Dons in 2022.