In January, Celtic could be energised by two factors as Brendan Rodgers tries to emphasise the advantage.
Celtic has been urged to place in the top eight of the Champions League and earn the additional £10 million that comes with it.
Although a stalemate with Club Brugge dampened the excitement a bit, the Hoops have already made an impression on Europe this season and appear poised to advance to the knockout stage. They are now in 20th place with eight points from five games, including a historic victory over RB Leipzig. One more win would virtually guarantee them a spot in the playoffs as one of the teams ranked ninth to 24th.
But if they get off to a good start, they can still make it into the coveted top eight. Even though Monaco is now in seventh place, they are only two points behind them, and two victories over Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb might propel them up the standings. If they obtained it, how would that protect them?
First of all, they would advance directly to the round of 16 and avoid a playoff. More importantly, it would generate them an additional revenue of nearly £10 million.
Celtic earned £15.7 million only for making it to the Champions League, £1.8 million for each of their victories, and £590,000 for each of their draws with Brugge and Atalanta. It is worth an additional £900,000 to finish in one of the playoff berths. However, the actual money is in the round of 16, assuming they place in the top eight and advance directly. The Hoops would therefore receive £1.7 million for finishing in last place and an enormous £9.3 million for making it to the competition’s final 16 teams.
Can they, however, do it? According to James McFadden, yes. “I still think they have a chance of making the top eight,” he stated on Open Goal. At home, they had young boys. Dinamo on the road, followed by Villa in the final match.
“Their situation is still favourable. Some (large) teams are having trouble. In contrast to Club Brugge, it was different. The objective was never seriously bothered by them. Despite their impressive appearance, they weren’t scoring, and the goal they did get was disastrous for Celtic.
Celtic may have lost the Brugge match a few years back. You’re thinking, “This is a great chance for Celtic to win,” before to the game. However, when you watch it, a point isn’t a catastrophe at the conclusion of the game. In fact, it’s beneficial for their current position.
In other places Luis Palma is rumoured to be joining MLS in January. The Honduran was not included in Saturday’s 5-0 thumping of Ross County and is far down the Celtic hierarchy.
Brendan Rodgers’ preferred wide men are Nicholas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda, but Palma is currently trailing Yang and James Forrest, who are also veterans. After spending the majority of this season warming the bench, he has made a number of cryptic social media remarks, and it appears that his future is not at Parkhead. According to the Scottish Sun, Palma is expected to leave the champions when the transfer window opens in four weeks, and there is a lot of interest from around the country.
With Palma gone and an additional £10 million assured in the bank, Celtic could easily take off in January. According to earlier reports, they are looking to add a striker and a winger, and Mathias Kvistgaarden is one player who hasn’t completely disappeared. They might seek to the Dane, who can perform both of those roles, to accomplish two goals at once.
