Celtic Transfer Spend Laid Bare After Champions League Disaster

Celtic tumbled out of the Champions League last night following one of their worst ever results away to Kairat Almaty.

The Hoops could not score over two legs and extra-time in Kazakhstan against the minnows and then they flopped hard in the resulting penalty shootout.

It was a truly embarrassing performance and result for Celts who will now miss out on the £40million riches of the Champions League.

Europa League fixtures are to come for the Scottish champions but that can hardly be considered any sort of consolation for Brendan Rodgers and his side.

They should have had enough to see off Kairat who sit 315th in UEFA’s coefficient standings compared to Celtic’s 56th spot.

Rodgers was embarrassed at full-time and admitted that he and his players will be gutted for some time at their failures, but with the Rangers derby just around the corner, he knows they cannot wallow.

Celtic have spent just £3million on transfers

But the supporters have let their manager know exactly how they feel if social media is anything to go by. The Hoops boardroom have also been torched by punters who have blasted the lack of spending at Parkhead.

Fans argue that Rodgers went into the qualifiers under-prepared without the necessary tools to get the job done.

Nicolas Kuhn left for Como in a £17m deal at the beginning of this summer while Kyogo has still not been replaced up front. The club raked in £10m when they sold the Japanese frontman.

This summer only just over £3m has been by the Celtic board on new faces with Kieran Tierney arriving on a free transfer.

Benjamin Nygren cost just £1.7m from Nordsjaelland and Shin Yamada was brought in for £1.5m from Kawasake Frontale. The rest of the acquisitions were either freebies, cross-border compensation fees or buttons.

The frustration lies in the spending power Celtic have in their coffers with as much as £80m sitting in the bank gathering dust.

Michel Ange Balikwisha, the Royal Antwerp winger, will join this week. He will be met by Marcelo Saracchi on a loan deal from Boca Juniors as their new deputy left-back for Tierney.

Which players will sign for Celtic this summer transfer window?

A new striker is on the agenda and Celtic like Jamie Vardy, though they face serious competition for the Leicester City icon with other clubs eyeing a swoop for the free agent.

The Kairat Almaty result, in context, is one of the Scottish side’s worst ever results in European competition which is saying something considering they have also lost in the past to the likes of Lincoln Red Imps, Artmedia Bratislava and plenty of other clubs.

But what are the pundits saying?

Stiliyan Petrov revealed he feared being locked out of Celtic Park if he gave his true opinion.

What pundits said about Celtic failure

Asked what Celtic need in the door before deadline day, Petrov said: “If you want me to answer, they probably won’t let me back in Celtic Park.

“They need quite a few players. I think they are probably short four or five classy players; good quality. I think Celtic has always paid attention to development – developing players and giving them time.

“They do have those players – now they need quality. Now they need players who could make a difference. Gaffer (gesturing to Martin O’Neill), he always looked for big players – big characters – who can make a difference. Sometimes you need players like that.

“I think this Celtic squad do need that kind of help. I think they do need a financial injection. They need quality, and they need players who can make the difference on the big stage.”