The upturned tables of British football and the relative poverty of the Scottish game were never more starkly told than in the recent sale of Ki Sung-Yueng from Celtic to Swansea City.

Imagine this “little Welsh club”, as thousands of Old Firm fans might not so long ago have thought of Swansea, ambling up to Celtic and blithely offering £6m for the South Korean international.

Both humbled and grateful at the size of the largesse, Peter Lawwell, the Celtic CEO, scarcely found time to thank Ki for his three years in Glasgow in his rush to rubber-stamp the deal and see the midfielder off the premises.

Swansea City’s new financial might could make any Celtic fan (or Rangers fan) weep. Two years ago the Welsh club’s turnover was a paltry £11m, just a fifth of Celtic’s.

Today Swansea receive £35m per season just for being in the Barclays Premier League, plus the guarantee of £16m per season for two years thereafter should they be relegated.

In their reduced financial state, it is worth asking again: can anyone imagine what Lawwell and Celtic could do with such a guaranteed annual windfall?

The sale of Ki was pertinent, given that Celtic are now in the group stages of the 2012-13 Champions League. Lawwell has fashioned his club on a buy-to-sell financial model, which is nothing at all to be ashamed of.

The fact is, in players like Gary Hooper, Beram Kayal, Emilio Izaguirre, Fraser Forster and others, Celtic hope to make a profit on these playing assets rather than establish them as long-term stays.

Ki, bought for £2m in August 2009, is a classic example of the Lawwell plan. Celtic were biting Swansea’s arm off for the money. The question is, while buy-to-sell is laudable, what of Celtic’s inward investment?

On this front the strategy at Celtic Park is equally clear – loot Scandinavia for all it is worth.

In admitting that his club are after the Rosenborg midfielder, Markus Henriksen, Neil Lennon confirmed that Celtic are trying to buy a seventh player in less than three years from the Nordic countries, following the arrivals of Morten Rasmussen, Jos Hoiveld, Tomas Rogne, Mikael Lustig, Mo Bangura, on top of the sought-after – but missed – Erik Huseklepp.

In terms of the region’s style of play, plus its low financial thresholds, Scandinavia represents a near-perfect area of prey for Celtic. Yet it hasn’t always gone smoothly.

Rasmussen and Hoiveld proved unsuccessful signings, while Bangura, who has returned to AIK Solna on loan, has looked one of the great fiascos of Celtic’s signing policy of the past decade. Having cost £2.2m, nor did the Sierra Leone striker come cheap.

All sorts of dark rumour and innuendo have followed this Bangura episode, but one thing is clear: Lennon and Celtic are ruing his purchase.

There is pressure on Celtic from supporters to invest in at least two quality players now the Champions League group stage is reached, yet Lennon himself has doubted he will see such boardroom swagger.

The Celtic manager recently stated that he remained unsure how much – if any – of the incoming Ki money he would receive.

A tranche of it will be devoted to reducing the club’s net debt of £7m, as Celtic love to do. Even modest levels of debt for recent boards have almost been viewed as a cardinal sin and, given this summer’s crash-and-burn of their great rivals, perhaps they have a point.

Moreover, while an exact figure cannot be put on it, Celtic’s current season ticket sales appear to be under 40,000 – a sinking year-on-year trend.

So while there is a cry for new players in time for the looming European adventure, the fact is that between £2m and £3m has been wiped from Celtic’s incoming season ticket revenues.

Lawwell and Celtic have much to be proud of in recent seasons, not least in eschewing the fatal recklessness of Rangers. Yet the demands on the Parkhead club to be financially emboldened remain.

There are many Celtic supporters who, notwithstanding the economic woes facing their club, want their board to be far more ambitious than it is.