Celtic must flex their financial muscle to secure Barney Stewart deal after West Brom see £1m+ bid rejected
Celtic must be ready to get their cheque book out if they are to win the race to sign Falkirk hotshot Barney Stewart this summer.
The 22-year-old striker is attracting interest from clubs in England and across Europe after a debut Scottish Premiership campaign that has seen him hit eight goals from just 17 games.
The starlet’s displays for Falkirk have seen him earn plenty of attention south of the border, and West Brom have become the first team to act on that, as the Daily Record reported on Thursday that the Baggies have seen a seven-figure bid for him rejected.
West Brom are understood to have already made “multiple offers” for Stewart, but remain a long way short of Falkirk’s valuation, despite their latest bid totalling well over £1million.
Celtic have Stewart on their radar ahead of what is expected to be an overhaul of their squad this summer, and they clearly have the financial power to get a deal done.
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Football Insider revealed at the start of May that Celtic are “keeping tabs” on Stewart at the moment, and he is one of the names who are “in the frame” for them this summer.
The Bhoys have a new frontman as one of their top priorities for the upcoming window, but they will have to act quickly, as news of West Brom’s offers could potentially spark a bidding war in the coming weeks.
| Stats | Barney Stewart | Daizen Maeda |
| Apps (Starts) | 17 (17) | 35 (31) |
| Goals | 8 | 13 |
| Goals per 90 | 0.51 | 0.43 |
| Big Chances Missed per 90 | 0.76 | 0.79 |
| Conversion Rate | 20% | 19.1% |
| Duels Won per 90 | 5.33 | 3.31 |
The Glasgow giants have the financial muscle to be able to beat the Baggies to a deal for the starlet, as they would surely be more than capable of immediately jumping in with an offer in the £2-3m range.
Celtic are set for another shot at qualifying for the Champions League next term, regardless of how their league title bout with Hearts plays out on Saturday, and that could see their revenue receive a huge spike once again.
With that in mind, if the Parkhead outfit were to go all out in their attempts to land Stewart this summer, they would surely have enough power behind them to get a deal done.
However, West Brom’s interest has shown that they will not be able to wait until a new manager is appointed before making their move, as Stewart’s future could well be settled by then.
Bhoys now battling the odds for Scottish Premiership additions
Former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness recently told Football Insider that he sees no benefit in Tawanda Maswanhise moving to Celtic, apart from the increase in wages that it would provide.
The Motherwell frontman is another Premiership star who is on the Bhoys’ radar heading into the window, but Wyness feels that the changes to Scotland’s European places will reduce their pull moving forward.
Premiership sides now have to go through multiple rounds of qualification to secure their place in the league phase of the Champions League, which Wyness expects will work to their detriment.
The fact that they can no longer offer a simple route onto the European stage will harm their chances when it comes to attracting players, and could make a move to England more attractive now.
With that in mind, Celtic may have to seriously sweeten any deal that they put on the table for Stewart this summer, if they truly want to land him.
Target: Elijah Just (Motherwell)
Long-term: Carter-Vickers out
League Pos: 2nd (61 pts)
Status: Summer Talks Underway
Revenue: £143.6m (2025)