Celtic ended their summer transfer window with ten new signings, but manager Martin O'Neill said the Europa League is not as important as winning the Scottish Premiership, and admitted the club's late arrivals are not lined up to play in Europe.
O'Neill made the comments after submitting his squad list to UEFA following a frantic final stretch of business on transfer deadline day, Wednesday night.
Last weekend, O'Neill had told Rangers to keep the 300 tickets they had offered Celtic for the upcoming Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox, joking about giving them just one ticket back for the derby at Celtic Park the following week.
Celtic season-ticket holders have been offered four-game European packages priced at £140, covering matches against Ferencvaros, Celta Vigo, Besiktas and Marseille.
Methven's criticism
Former Sunderland executive director Charlie Methven said on his Business of Sport podcast that a "dysfunctional" board at Celtic Park have "built an entire business model out of failure."
Celtic make money whether or not they land Champions League group-stage football, which is worth an estimated £40million.
New arrivals
Gvidas Gineitis of Torino had been identified as a target to fill a defensive midfield role, but negotiations collapsed and Celtic did not sign him.
Instead, 19-year-old Joel van den Berg arrived for £3million from PSV Eindhoven. He has little first-team experience and has not been named in Celtic's Europa League squad, though it has been suggested he could eventually replace Arne Engels.
Five further players were added late in the window. Oliver Sorensen, 24, joined on loan from Parma with Serie A experience. A goalkeeper in his thirties arrived on loan from England to provide competition in goal, while two young players joined on loan from Chelsea. Swiss right-back Jordan Lotomba signed a 12-month deal after making eight Eredivisie starts for Feyenoord last season.
Early-window spending
Celtic had earlier spent £30million recruiting Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur, a move that initially pointed to a policy of quality over quantity before the late business reverted to loans and squad depth.
Champions League struggles
Celtic have failed at the Champions League qualifying stage for six straight seasons, losing out to sides including Kairat, Cluj, LASK and Ferencvaros, a run described as eight exits in ten attempts.
The club's most recent qualifying exit came in Linz two weeks ago, a heavy defeat to LASK that featured Anthony Ralston and Dane Murray in the starting line-up.
Transfer finances
Despite the early spending, Celtic finished the window well in profit. Transfers in totalled just over £30million, while transfers out raised close to £50million following the departures of Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki and Johnny Kenny.
Around 20 players who were part of the first-team squad last season have left the club, against ten new arrivals.
Two players linked with Celtic moved elsewhere for smaller fees. Niko Sigur, who played at the World Cup with Canada, left Hajduk Split for Toulouse, currently third-bottom of Ligue 1, for an estimated £3.5million. Ermin Mahmic, who was with Bosnia over the summer, left Slovan Liberec for Corum FK in Turkey, also third-bottom of their domestic league, for £4.3million.
Squad gaps remain
Celtic remain without a fit first-choice left-back with Kieran Tierney injured, and question marks also hang over central midfield and central defence.
Celtic's major shareholder, Dermot Desmond, said in a 2020 interview that "Europe is so important as a yardstick of our football progression." His son, Ross Desmond, spoke last year at the club's abandoned AGM about an "enormous change in the financial landscape."
O'Neill, 74, is in charge on a one-year contract with an option for a further year.
