Celtic’s superior transfer policy may result in a number of January windfalls whilst Ibrox struggles on.

One of the things the Ibrox club endlessly whines about—and an area where they are desperate to emulate us—is transfer policy. I’ve written on this site before that their fans are unlikely to embrace a model where their best players are sold after just a year or two at the club.

Even if they somehow manage to adopt this approach, they are miles away from making the kind of money we generate. The hard evidence lies in a couple of potential deals involving players who aren’t even at Celtic right now.

We constantly hear about their players being “worth” astronomical sums. While writing the piece on Connor Goldson yesterday, I came across comments from Philippe Clement, claiming he’d only accept a bid in the region of £30 million for Jack Butland. His reasoning? Only a fee of that magnitude could fund an adequate replacement.

I couldn’t help but laugh at such absurdity. Butland was never worth that, and in the current market—where the undisputed best goalkeeper in Scotland, Joe Hart, came to Celtic on a free—he certainly isn’t now.

The shadow we cast over their club is perhaps best summed up not by the players they struggle to sell but by those we are in the process of offloading—or have already moved on.

Take Gustaf Lagerbielke, for instance. There’s been speculation about him either staying in Holland or returning to Celtic Park. While I doubt we’ll see him back in Glasgow, I wouldn’t rule out us turning a profit on him. He’s performing well in the Netherlands, and although he doesn’t fit into our system, he’s a solid defender.

Then there’s Alexandro Bernabei, who has been generating headlines lately—not just for his performances, which have been excellent, but for the potential transfer fee he could command. There’s talk that Celtic are holding out for around £8 million, a figure that initially sounded optimistic. Yet reports suggest multiple clubs are ready to pay close to that.

While we may have to work a bit to recoup Lagerbielke’s value, Bernabei looks set to deliver a surprise profit. The fact we can command significant fees for players who didn’t succeed at Celtic Park must be galling for our rivals, who can’t seem to offload first-team players at a profit.

A particularly amusing case involves a player no longer at Celtic: Jeremie Frimpong. The Dutch international is again linked with Europe’s top clubs and looks set for a big-money move. Thanks to our sell-on clause, Celtic stand to pocket a significant windfall—likely in the mid-seven figures. This could end up being the second-largest fee collected by a Scottish club this year, and it won’t even involve a player currently at Celtic.

That must be gut-wrenching for them. It highlights not only our ability to develop players and sell them for substantial sums but also our knack for identifying players with so much untapped potential that they continue to grow—and generate profit for us—even after leaving.

Sell-on clauses have been a hallmark of our strategy, as seen with players like Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama. These deals keep paying off for us, not only through clauses but also through performance bonuses and other incentives.

This success comes down to reputation. Clubs trust Celtic to develop players into top-class professionals, so they’re willing to pay premium fees, confident in the long-term value of their investment. Building that reputation takes time and a consistent track record of quality—a concept utterly lost on Ibrox.

Their new technical director—recently promoted despite a lacklustre track record—illustrates their struggle to grasp the fundamentals of a working transfer strategy. They’re trying to mimic Celtic without understanding the investment and infrastructure required.

It’s flailing, pure and simple. While their structural issues persist, they remain light-years away from replicating what we do. In this arena, the gulf is as wide as ever—and it’s absolutely hilarious.