If he's still around to head up the hunt, Ange Postecoglou has admitted that he still won't be allowed to go browsing in the most premium transfer markets this summer - even if Celtic's best players leave for pastures new.
The likes of Liel Abada, Reo Hatate and Kyogo have all been linked with moves away from Celtic in recent months, whilst Josip Juranovic left the club in January for a fee of £12million to fellow Champions League qualifiers Union Berlin. It is this astuteness in the market that has earned the Hoops the title of being shrewd operators; picking up steals such as Hatate, Alistair Johnston, Matt O'Riley and Abada for relative peanuts whilst potentially selling them on for increased fees is a sure-fire way to keep the club's coffers full.
But with that comes an obvious caveat. The Hoops, if only by miracle, won't compete with Europe's elite in the latter stages of the tournament if they are consistently selling their best players, year in year out. In order to bypass that, Postecoglou must be allowed to shop at the top table. But the Australian, who is Tottenham's top choice for new boss and looks increasingly likely to get the chance, believes that expensive browsing is not a viable option just yet as he looks towards another European tour.
Speaking to the Open Goal podcast, the Hoops boss said of Celtic's upcoming Champions League campaign: "It's a unique thing where you have to have experienced it.
"I think the players who experienced it this year will be better players anyway, because for most of our guys, that was their first game at that kind of level. Those guys after that experience, after the way they developed, they'll be better prepared for it. That's what we were looking for.
"Our recruiting and transfer business is about how we can make ourselves stronger. So can we, as players leave, try and bring a player in who will make us stronger than the one who left? It's not easy, it's not exactly science.
"But for the most part we've done that. The experience itself will make us a better Champions League team, so if you're talking about bringing in a player, it would be someone who has actually played in it.
"For us to bring in players who have played at Champions League level, it's still out of our range."
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