Exclusive: Celtic well placed to agree ‘£5m’ January signing
Celtic may have to suffer financially this season as they search for their next permanent manager to take over the club.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley who exclusively told Football Insider that Celtic would be able to afford Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna.
Football Insider exclusively revealed that McKenna is interested in taking the Celtic job, to take over the Glasgow club following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.
Ipswich would demand £5million in compensation for McKenna, with his deal at Portman Road not set to expire until 2028.
Decision on Celtic board amid ‘strong’ finances
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes the McKenna compensation payment comes solely down to the Celtic board.
“Financially, their numbers are strong, there turnover of the much recent set of accounts 2024, the turnover was £125m and the wage bill was £65m,” Plumley stated.
“That’s well over the controllable, they’ve made a profit in the last three years.
“They are a club that can spend but, again, they’re not going to spend hundreds of millions. That that’s not the model and its not that they can go to that level.
“But they can spend. And if they do want this manager and they see that as key to moving forward they can afford £5m. And then you’re into, okay, what’s the longer term project?
“Even if Hearts win the league this year, it’s not the end of the world for Celtic. They’ll be back, and they are, you know, with Rangers financially they’re the two most dominant clubs in Scotland.
“So it’s short term pain and, you know, looking at long term gain ultimately, but they could afford that manager at that price.
“They could afford to spend a little bit in January. It is just we haven’t seen them always do that.
“So it’s kind of almost on them because the finances are in a really good spot.“
Martin O’Neill could remain at Celtic
Current interim manager Martin O’Neill is keen to stay at Celtic for the remainder of the season, a move which would mean no compensation payment would have to be paid to another club.
O’Neill won his first two games in charge of the club in his second spell, before the Hoops were defeat 3-1 in the Europa League by Midjteland.
The 73-year-old will continue to take charge of Celtic’s game against Kilmarnock before the international break.