Celtic have obliterated their transfer model and Kieran Tierney’s arrival is evidence Rodgers will push for more of the same
On the face of it, it’s difficult to imagine how things can get much better for Celtic.
Another league championship – a fourth in succession – is about to be celebrated. And that title will most probably be turned into a treble when Brendan Rodgers takes his team to Hampden to face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final on May 24.
Given that Rodgers has won all 21 of his previous ties in this competition over his two stints in charge – and not forgetting either that his team currently sits a humungous 32 points clear of Jimmy Thelin’s side – it seems reasonable to conclude that this season’s showpiece will end the way it almost always does these days.
With another green and white victory parade.
All of that would mean that Rodgers will have delivered 12 out of the 13 trophies he’s competed for during his first and second terms in office.
So it’s worth repeating. How on earth does it get any better than this?
Well, that’s why what follows the celebrations, after the ticker tape has settled, will be so revealing and utterly fascinating, yes, even in this world of completely predictable domestic dominance.
Will it make much of a difference when the prizes are being handed out again in 12 months from now? Probably not.
Even if Rangers throw their new American funded kitchen sink at closing the gap it remains highly unlikely that they’ll be able to successfully bridge it between now and next May.
Andrew Cavenagh and his backers from the San Francisco 49ers will be full of good intentions, fresh funding and bright ideas but, despite their collective ambition and expertise, they do not have a track record for turning water into wine.
And right now it would take something miraculous for them to reset the natural order at the first attempt.
Which is why Celtic’s response to the change of keys across the city will be so fascinating to observe.
The men in charge of the Parkhead club, while keeping a close eye on the new neighbours and the actions of medical insurance tycoon Cavenagh, will also have been carrying out their own risk assessment.
And it will tell them that there is no pressing need for pushing the panic button and splurging the kind of money that doesn’t need to be spent. Not if staying on top of the Premiership pile is the primary concern.
The truth is, Rodgers has more than enough at his disposal already to get the job done especially given that his only realistic rival hasn’t even appointed its next manager, far less begun its latest much needed squad overhaul.
But that doesn’t mean Celtic can afford to sit back and allow the grass to grow under their feet – as tempting as that might seem for a board which prides itself on the other-worldly healthiness of its own bank balance.
Chairman Peter Lawwell and chief executive Michael Nicholson have been around the place for far too long to fall into such an obvious trap.
Both of these men will know instinctively that the club cannot sit on its laurels just because the team across the river is entering into a summer of ground zero.
No. Targets will be identified in the transfer market and considerable amounts of money will be set aside in order for Rodgers to acquire them. That much is absolutely non-negotiable.
The real question of interest is, will they pivot and return to the much coveted player trading model which has worked so well for so long, or will they continue to diverge down a very different looking path?
It’s no coincidence that the return of Rodgers to the manager’s post has seen Celtic drift away, quite sharply, from its long held strategy in the market.
The Irishman has been banging the drum for an increase in ‘quality’ ever since he walked back in the door. These demands have been manifested in the shape of signings such as Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah, Auston Trusty and Arne Engels.
With Kieran Tierney’s signature already secured for the next campaign, there’s evidence already that Celtic are prepared to keep moving in the same direction, even if it means ripping up the business plan that has bloated the bank balance in the past.
At the age of 27, prodigal son Tierney is almost certain to become one of the most highly paid earners on the books when he completes his return home from Arsenal – six years after his £25m move to the Emirates.
If anything sums up this major shift of policy it is Tierney’s imminent transfer.
Celtic haven’t just moved away from the old model over the last 18 months. They’ve obliterated it.
Around £11m has been shelled out on Engels. The fee for Idah was not a great deal less.
And, on both counts, there is reason to debate if this has been money well spent even though the Belgian and the Irishman have been significant contributors over another campaign of complete dominance.
There may be a reluctance to spend so heavily again on one or two players this summer, especially with Tierney about to become a top earner.
There may even be a temptation to revert to type and to spread the spending money across the roulette table, rather than to pile it on a couple of specific numbers.
The business brains inside Celtic may believe now is the ideal time to return to speculating sums of four or five million on half a dozen different prospects in the hope of punting half of them on again for four or five times the price somewhere down the line.
Rodgers, though, is likely to encourage them to stay the current course. If there’s another £30m to be invested this summer, he’d most probably prefer for it to be more finely targeted on a few new premium, oven ready recruits. He’ll argue that this caliber of are safer bets in the long run. And he’s probably correct.
But, even so, he’ll have a job on his hands convincing the current board that they could recoup the fees spent on Idah and Engels if they took those two to the market when it opens at the end of the month.
In reality, Rodgers doesn’t need to overbloat his options with a bunch of medium priced wildcards.
What he needs is a centre half as reliable and capable as Cameron Carter-Vickers. A centre midfield player as creative and productive as Reo Hatate, who has been giving off Kyogo Furuhashi’s wantaway vibes behind the scenes for some time.
He’ll have an eye on a striker like Brondy’s Mathias Kvistgaarden, even though the 23-year-old Dane could cost twice as much as Idah did last summer.
And he’s likely to be looking for an exceptionally talented wide man too now that Jota could be sidelined for most of next season and even though, inevitably, James Forrest will see the next arrival off the premises. As he always does.
Which is why the coming weeks promise to be so fascinating. Celtic will spend and spend big. But buying cheap and buying bulk won’t satisfy their manager’s demands.
