Sell Before We Buy Again? Celtic Deserve Better Than This

Where is the vision? Where is the foresight? Where is the meticulous planning that should underpin every transfer window at a football club of Celtic’s stature?

Supporters are not asking for miracles. They are asking for competence.

With Arne Engels, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda all attracting serious interest, Celtic could yet bank well over £60 million in transfer fees this summer. Add that to the club’s already substantial cash reserves and the financial platform is stronger than almost any club in Scotland could dream of.

Yet the same question refuses to go away.

Why does it always feel as though Celtic are waiting to sell before they buy?

And if that is not the strategy, why does every transfer window create exactly the same impression?

A club of Celtic’s size should never be caught reacting to events. Every possible departure should already have been anticipated. Every shortlist should already be complete. Negotiations should already be well advanced. Replacements should be arriving before key players leave, not weeks afterwards when every selling club knows Celtic are under pressure.

That is what elite football operations do.

Instead, supporters are left watching speculation grow around Engels, Hatate and Maeda while uncertainty also surrounds Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren and even Alistair Johnston should a significant offer arrive.

The concern is not that players may leave. Successful clubs sell players.

The concern is whether Celtic have built a football structure capable of staying one step ahead.

That is where the spotlight inevitably falls on the leadership overseeing football operations. Their responsibility is not simply to complete transfers. It is to build a system that identifies risk long before it becomes a crisis. It is to ensure succession plans already exist. It is to remove panic from the process.

Supporters are entitled to judge whether that standard is being met.

Because this is no longer about one transfer window. It has become a recurring theme that undermines confidence every summer. The feeling that Celtic will wait, delay and only move decisively once money has come through the door has become embedded among the support.

That perception alone should concern everyone inside the club.

The irony is that Celtic possess every advantage. Financial stability. Champions League football. Domestic success. A worldwide support. They should be dictating the market, identifying talent early and striking from a position of strength.

Instead, they too often appear to negotiate from a position of desperation rather than authority. Every selling club knows Celtic are chasing replacements because key players have already departed or are on the verge of leaving. That destroys leverage. Transfer fees rise, negotiations become protracted and the club ends up paying a premium because it has backed itself into a corner.

That is not bad luck. It is not simply the reality of the transfer market. It is what happens when preparation falls short of the standard expected at an elite football club.

The best recruitment departments anticipate change rather than react to it. They identify replacements months in advance, build relationships with clubs and agents, and move before circumstances force their hand. They create options. They create leverage. Above all, they create stability.

That is precisely what Celtic appear to be lacking.

Supporters are tired of hearing about ambition. They want to see it reflected in action. They want evidence of a recruitment model built on planning rather than reaction, anticipation rather than improvisation, vision rather than hesitation.

The resources are there.

The opportunities are there.

The responsibility rests with those entrusted to turn those advantages into a coherent football strategy.

Ultimately, this debate is not about spending for the sake of spending. It is about leadership. It is about whether the people responsible for shaping Celtic’s future are providing the strategic thinking, preparation and decisive execution that a club of this size demands.

Because if another transfer window passes with Celtic once again appearing to sell before they buy, the criticism will not be about one deal or one missed target. It will be about whether the club’s leadership is delivering the level of vision, planning and ambition that Celtic supporters have every right to expect.