John Harston believes Ange Postecoglou holds all the cards in Celtic’s transfer dealings.
And he’s adamant the club will back the manager’s shrewd eye for a star with at least £20 million if they secure a £40 million Champions League jackpot.
Jota could be first in the door this summer with Portuguese sources last night insisting the winger has told parent club Benfica he wants to make his loan switch a permanent deal and has begun contract talks with the Scottish champions-elect.
Postecoglou snapped up the 12-goal winger last summer and has proven himself an outstanding worker within the market during his first year at Parkhead.
Key captures across the pitch including Jota have pushed the new-look squad towards the Premiership title and a lucrative place in the group stages of Europe’s elite competition next term.
Scotland’s champions are now guaranteed a route into the continental big time due to the suspension of Russian clubs and Celtic are stood on the brink.
The club has appointed Mark Lawwell, son of ex-chief executive Peter, as the club’s new head of first-team scouting and recruitment to assist Postecoglou’s planning.
Hartson insists the boss will have a strong hand in the summer and said: “I think Ange holds all the cards now. They’ve got to back him. For him to take Celtic further in Europe.
“They’ve got Champions League, but can they push on and make the knockout stages? They’re going straight into the group stages, can they get through?
“It will be very, very difficult, but to do that, they will need the quality of player.
“So, when you think of that and Ange goes and says I want this and I want that, then you have to think Celtic will back him. They’re quite a wealthy club anyway.
“Absolutely they will back him now Ange because he has already shown that his signings have done very well.
“He has looked at some of the European performances this season, went out of the Champions League, went out of the Europa League into the Conference League, went out of that.
“That’s the one thing that top managers want to do, they want to go and achieve things at the very highest level, not rest on the fact that he’s only been here a year and won a Double.
“He’ll want to improve Celtic at the highest level.”
Asked whether as much as £20 million might be at his disposal, Hartson said: “Yeah, he will get that. He will need that to get Jota and [Cameron] Carter-Vickers over the line if they are to get both of them.”
Lawwell has opted to end 10 years as City Football Group’s head of scouting and recruitment to take the role at Celtic.
Postecoglou worked with him during his time at Yokohama F Marinos, one of 10 clubs part-owned by CFG and has stated publicly his delight at the move.
Hartson says the Aussie has already proven himself adept enough in the market with his signings since arriving in Glasgow.
He said: “After last season, it was important that Ange got the recruitment right for the challenge ahead.
“A year ago none of us had heard of Jota, or Liel Abada, or others. Let’s get it right.
“None of us had heard of Kyogo, or [Reo] Hatate or [Daizen] Maeda. None.
“Joe Hart was finished, didn’t have a club and finished. Criticised when he came up here. Too old, won’t do it.
“It [Champions League] releases funds for a top class manager like Ange who has proved in his first season he’s somebody they really trust and believe in.”
