CELTIC

The incoming £50m Premiership loot

The Scottish top flight could soon be raking in huge amounts of cash for some of its top players

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O’Riley and Miovski could raise Celtic and Aberdeen north of £30million

With a touch over three weeks remaining of the transfer window, there’s still plenty of business to be done.

Celtic still need at least one new striker while Rangers want one as well if the money is there. Hibs expect to be busy while Hearts have done the majority of their business. Aberdeen have picked their moments, but keeping their star man, Bojan Miovski, will be the burning issue for the rest of the window. And while fans’ focus will understandably be on incoming recruits, those are likely to heavily depend on who goes where and for how much.

Scottish clubs have long accepted they eventually have to sell their best talent. For too long, cut price fees – especially from England – were also meekly acknowledged with a shrug of the shoulders. Thankfully that’s a trend that’s been banished over the past few years and our clubs are demanding the going rate – or at least closer to it – when bigger boys come calling. Sometimes no amount of money will be enough for punters, but we’re finally moving away from being grateful for chump change.

With time running out to source replacements, the financial rewards will have to be worthwhile to sanction exits at this stage. Record Sport looks at who is likely to go, how much they are likely to bring in and how that could impact on subsequent new signings coming IN the door.

Celtic

Matt O’Riley is the major domino still to fall. The Celtic midfielder has seen offers from Atalanta (x3) and Southampton, while Brighton are thought to be readying a £25million bid. That seems to the be the magic number that will at least get Celtic to the table and would smash the previous record fee received for Kieran Tierney and then matched for Jota. The Hoops have plenty of cash in the bank, but it’s unlikely that all of any O’Riley fee will be ploughed back into the team.

Other potential departure include centre backs Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki. Neither have had much of a sniff since arriving last summer and are clearly surplus to requirements. Whether both will be allowed to leave remains to be seen, with depth still needed in the middle of defence. Around £7.3million was spent on the pair, so if Celtic can recoup at least of that, then it will be good business.

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As to what the incoming cash gets spent on? Well a striker is a priority for Brendan Rodgers. An offer of between £6m-£8m has been lodged in the latest attempt to bring Adam Idah back to Parkhead. A left back remains on the wanted list as well as a centre-back, although perhaps less pressing than the other end of the park.

Approximate incoming total: £32million

Rangers

Philippe Clement has already admitted he needs to sell before he can buy more. There are a number of contenders who could head for the Ibrox exit door, but that may be easier said than done, or in some cases, just not the desired outcome.

James Tavernier’s future tends to split opinion. Some fans reckon it’s time to thank him for his goals and near-decade of service and move on. Others reckon he remains a key figure and would be tough to replace. Trabzonspor and Besiktas were both interested and the consensus is that Gers could raise about £2million from moving him on.

Ianis Hagi only has. a year left so now would be the time to cash in. A £3million return to Fiorentina was claimed to be close, but it’s all gone a bit quiet. An impressive Euros won’t have harmed their chances, although reports in Italy have suggested he could be allowed to go for free, which would be a surprise.

James Tavernier (Image: SNS Group)

Todd Cantwell will almost certainly move on. As to what he could fetch, then that depends. Interested clubs know Rangers have a player who doesn’t want to be there, but still has a good chunk of time left on his deal. A return to England would seem most likely and there’s money to play with there, even in the Championship. Given his situation, £3m-£4m would likely be accepted.

Scott Wright seems to be on the potential exits list every six months. Links to Sheffield Wednesday earlier in the summer looked like they might come to something, but his involvement in recent games point to him staying. Again, the £1.5m-£2m mark would probably seem realistic.

As to what the Ibrox club could spend any cash on, then Albion Rrahmani would seem gettable from Rapid Bucharest. Of course, Lawrence Shankland’s name will come up again should Gers find themselves flush any time soon, although Hearts even considering a sale at this stage seems far fetched.

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