Tom Boyd believes Celtic should wait until after their Champions League qualifiers before conducting any significant transfer business.
The Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions will have to negotiate three rounds if they are to reach the group stages, and how successful they are in that quest will determine the stance the club can take in their buying and selling strategies.
Manager Neil Lennon would like to strengthen his squad, and various targets have been identified, while Gary Hooper, Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama have all been linked with departures from Celtic Park. Reaching the group stages would significantly bolster Celtic's finances, as well as being an attraction for players to remain at and come to the club. Failure would have a negative impact and may, of course, reduce the amount that clubs offer for players who want to leave.
"Celtic will still have time after the qualifiers," said Boyd. "The club is on a good financial footing anyway but the money and the challenge of the Champions League would help entice better quality players. Celtic have a fairly young team and maybe a bit of experience would help. If you don't qualify then they sell Hooper or whoever but if they do qualify they will hope to keep them because they will have that extra money there."
It is widely thought Hooper would welcome a return to England, and there has been speculation Forster would also consider a move back south. It is Wanyama who appears to be attracting the most significant interest, though. Mark Hughes, the new Stoke City manager, is known to be a keen admirer, while Arsenal have long been credited with an interest.
Boyd would like the midfielder remain at Celtic for at least another season, so he keeps developing, but also to assist the club's Champions League ambitions. "It's vital that they keep Wanyama," Boyd said. "He's young and he will only get a better player. He's showed in the Champions League that he's a talented boy, strong and a goalscorer at the highest level. He's a big asset. If you start talking the funny money that English clubs have then he will go. But Celtic will want to keep him another couple of years and try and work round him as the mainstay of the club.
"It's as much about who Neil keeps as who he signs. He will be able to keep them all if they qualify for the Champions League with the money that comes in. Whether they want to stay is another matter. If English teams come in with big money it's a no-brainer and they will have to go, but hopefully that won't happen for a few years yet. They will see when they go down south it's not always as bright down there as they think it will be. They will miss the Champions League nights."
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