Ramon Vega reckons Celtic can double their dough if they splash out to secure Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The American ace cemented his reputation as a top-class operator with a dominant display in his team’s win over Rangers at Ibrox.
Carter-Vickers supplemented his sterling work in defence with a match-winning goal as Ange Postecoglou ’s troops took a huge step towards the title.
The Aussie gaffer was able to snare his defender in the final hour of last summer’s transfer window on a season-long loan.
Carter-Vickers’ parent club Spurs want a chunky fee from Celtic for the 24-year-old to make that deal permanent.
But, although there is interest from the English Premier League which may drive up the bidding, Vega reckons his Parkhead chiefs stand to profit in any case if a deal can be agreed between two of the clubs he represented as a player.
He said: “If they can get around that £8million mark, there is no doubt they should take the player and make the signing. If they qualify for the Champions League, he is a player who needs to be there.
“Don’t forget, he isn’t old. He is quite young and, if he really performs well, he could be valued at double that amount in going back to England in four or five years.
“If I look from a selfish point of view in terms of Celtic and from a manager’s thoughts, it would be, ‘I want to have a solid foundation at the back. This guy gives me that’.
“And I would pay that little bit extra dollars now because I’ll qualify for the Champions League and also that I’ll have assurance for the next few years that this guy is going to potentially lead us.
“If you pay £8m and you keep qualifying for the Champions League, then that money is worth it.
“He has improved massively at Celtic. It has put him back into the game, he’s enjoying it again and he’s confident again.
“He has that presence, he gives security and he’s scoring as well now. That’s important as it was missing in the past.
“There is no question mark that he is a top defender for the club now and one that you simply cannot allow to be out of the team at this point.”
Carter-Vickers’ emergence as a key component in the Postecoglou set-up alongside Carl Starfelt has been pivotal in the team’s charge for honours this term.
Vega acknowledges it’s night and day from last season’s trophyless term when goals were being shipped at an alarming rate. He continued: “Last season, the defence was a shambles. It was all over the place. You look at it now and it is solid with communication.
“You can see confidence and Carter-Vickers who provides and offers that confidence. That shines through the whole team.
“It gives the midfielders the freedom to go and do their jobs and also to the wingers and the forwards to do theirs.
“The key part is your foundation. To have a solid base. Once you have that, you can really build as a team going forward.”
Celtic displayed that at Ibrox as they grabbed the win which has catapulted them to the brink of title glory.
Four wins from the last six games could be enough to get the job done and Vega outlined the outstanding work of Postecoglou both in the latest triumph and over his full reign so far.
He said: “It was a great result. I was jumping up and down. Seeing Celtic winning an Old Firm game is always a pleasure.
“I experienced it a few times and it is a fantastic experience that I cannot really describe. You just have to play in it and win it to know the feeling. It was brilliant and with Carter-Vickers scoring as well.
“All credit to the manager, he has done a brilliant job in a very short time. In the beginning, we were all saying how long is he going to stay and underestimating him.
“He went into a club with people leaving, no sporting director. He pretty much had to manage everything.
“All merit to him. He’s done a fantastic job and was very clever with the
recruitment of his players.
“That’s the thing I like about it. He didn’t just go with players who were given to him from Europe. The Japanese players was a smart move.
“And the reason he got into that is that he knew the league, knew the players and he knew they were a safe bet.
“When you coach at a new place and don’t know the league or the club, you go to players you know will perform for you.
“If you don’t know players, it can take months for them to settle into the club but he went to an area he knew and would have felt 80 per cent they would do the job. And they have.”
