The Scottish Premiership title fight is set to go all the way this term with Rangers and Celtic battling it out at the top of the table once again this term.
Both Ange Postecoglou and Gio van Bronckhorst insist they have faith in their squads with plenty of rotation needed with Champions League football on the agenda this term as they fight for top spot before the break in league action due to the World Cup in Qatar. But could the title be decided by the recruitment team behind the scenes at both Ibrox and Celtic Park?
There has been big money spent by both Rangers and Celtic over the last two season's with Postecoglou looking to out his own stamp on the Scottish game after taking the Parkhead helm from Neil Lennon. Steven Gerrard walked away last season from the hot seat but Van Bronckhorst and sporting director Ross Wilson have been tasked with the Ibrox transfer business this term.
But where has the money gone? And how much has come back in? Record Sport puts the deals across the Glasgow divide in focus.
Celtic
2021/2022 season
When Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic Park he faced a massive rebuild after the disastrous bid to land 10 consecutive Scottish Premiership titles ended in heartbreak. That sparked a huge clear out with captain Scott Brown being followed out of the door by first-team regulars including Odsonne Edouard, Ryan Christie and Kris Ajer. A whopping 17 players arrived across the summer and winter windows at Celtic as they reclaimed the league crown.
Incoming
Liam Shaw (Sheffield Wednesday) - Free
Osaze Urhoghide (Sheffield Wednesday) - Free
Liel Abada (Maccabi Petah Tivka) - £3.6m
Kyogo Furuhashi (Vissel Kobe) - £4.8m
Carl Starfelt (Rubin Kazan) - £4.5m
Joe Hart (Tottenham) - £1m
James McCarthy (Crystal Palace) - Free
Josip Juranovic (Legia Warsaw) - £2.7m
Liam Scales (Shamrock Rovers) - £540k
Giorgios Giakoumakis (VVV Venlo) - £2.1m
Jota (Benfica) - Loan
Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham) - Loan
Daizen Maeda (Yokohama F. Marinos) - Loan
Reo Hatate (Kawasaki Frontale) - £1.4m
Yosuke Ideguchi (Gamba Osaka) - £800k
Johnny Kenny (Sligo Rovers) - £125k
Matt O’Riley (MK Dons) - £1.5m
Total - £25.77m
Outgoing
Scott Brown (Aberdeen) - Free
Jack Hendry (Oostende) - £1.75m
Vakoun Bayo (Toulouse) - £1.4m
Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford) - £14m
Marian Shved (Mechelen) - Undisclosed
Olivier Ntcham (Swansea) - Free
Leigh Griffiths (Dundee) - Loan
Ryan Christie (Bournemouth) - £2.5m
Odsonne Edouard (Crystal Palace) - £14m
Ewan Henderson (Hibs) - Loan
Liam Shaw (Motherwell) - Loan
Leigh Griffiths - Contract Terminated
Conor Hazard (HJK Helsinki) - Loan
Adam Montgomery (Aberdeen) - Loan
Total - £33.65m
2022/2023 season
A year later, the Scottish title pendulum had swung back to Celtic Park with Champions League group stage football guaranteed for the new champions. Ange Postecoglou retained key loanees Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota while adding depth off the back of lifting the Premiership crown and Premier Sports Cup in the previous campaign. The money recouped in transfer fees were significantly down on the previous term.
Incoming
Daizen Maeda (Yokohama F. Marinos) - £1.6m
Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham) - £6m
Benjamin Siegrist (Dundee United) - Free
Alexandro Bernabei (Lanus) - £3.75m
Jota (Benfica) - £6.3m
Aaron Mooy ( Shanghai Port) - Free
Moritz Jenz (Lorient) - Loan
Sead Haksabanovic (Rubin Kazan) - £1.75m
Oliver Abildgaard (Rubin Kazan) - Loan
Total - £19.4m
Outgoing
Tom Rogic (West Brom) - Free
Nir Bitton (Maccabi Tel Aviv) - Free
Vasilias Barkas (Utrecht) - Loan
Liam Scales (Aberdeen) - Loan
Luca Connell (Barnsley) - Free
Osaze Urhoghide (Oostende) - Loan
Ismaila Soro (Arouca) - Loan
Ewan Henderson (Hibs) - Free
Kerr McInroy (Kilmarnock) - Free
Boli Bolingoli (KV Mechelen) - Loan
Karamoko Dembele (Stade Brestois) - Free
Adam Montgomery (St Johnstone) - Loan
Albian Ajeti (Sturm Graz) - Loan
Christopher Jullien (Montpellier) - £1m
Johnny Kenny (Queen’s Park) - Loan
Total - £1m
Rangers
2021/2022 season
The Scottish Premiership trophy was safely secured by Steven Gerrard with the then-Ibrox boss looking to strengthen while the club were on top. However, the wheeling and dealing by sporting director Ross Wilson didn't really appear with small amounts splashed on incoming players before Gerrard's switch to Aston Villa. Gio van Bronckhorst arrived to steer the club to the Europa League final, but there was little spent in January with Aaron Ramsey the big name January arrival on loan from Juventus. However, Nathan Patterson's big money departure to Everton kickstarted the long-awaited player trading model.
Incoming
Fashion Sakala (Oostende) - Free
Nnamdi Ofoborh (Bournemouth) - Free
John Lundstram (Sheffield United) - Free
Charlie McCann (Manchester United) - £750k
Juninho Bacuna (Huddersfield Town) - Free
Juan Alegria (Honka) - £45k
James Sands (New York City FC) - Loan
Amad Diallo (Manchester United- Loan
Mateusz Zukowski (Lechia Gdansk) - £400k
Aaron Ramsey (Juventus) - Loan
Total - £1.2m
Outgoing
Greg Stewart (Jamshedpur) - Free
Kai Kennedy (Dunfermline) - Loan Kai
George Edmundson (Ipswich) - £750k
Jordan Jones (Wigan Athletic) - £500k
Glenn Middleton (St Johnstone) - Loan
Jake Hastie (Partick Thistle) - Loan
Cedric Itten (Greuther Furth) - Loan
Josh McPake (Tranmere) - Loan
Nathan Patterson (Everton) - £12m
Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) - Free
Stephen Kelly (Salford City) - Loan
Juninho Bacuna (Birmingham City) - Undisclosed
Brandon Barker (Reading) - Free
Total - £13.3m
2022/2023 season
Off the back of reaching the Sevilla final, Gio van Bronckhorst was tasked with bringing Champions League group stage football back to Ibrox. After seeing off PSV Eindhoven in the playoff, significantly less was forked out by the Ibrox higher-ups to fund the European adventure than their rivals Celtic. Ridvan Yilmaz proved to be the most expensive signing of the window. On the other hand, the departure of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo continued to boost the Rangers coffers.
Incoming
John Souttar (Hearts) - Free
Antonio Colak (PAOK) - £1.8m
Tom Lawrence (Derby) - Free
Rabbi Matondo (Schalke) - £2m
Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich) - Loan
Ben Davies (Liverpool) - £4m
Ridvan Yilmaz (Besiktas) - £5m
Total - £12.8m
Outgoings
Cedric Itten (Young Boys) - £1.55m
Leon Balogun (QPR) - Free
Andy Firth (Connah’s Quay Nomads) - Free
Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock) - Loan
Jake Hastie (Hartlepool) - Free
Joe Aribo (Southampton) - £6m
Kai Kennedy (Falkirk, loan)
Calvin Bassey (Ajax) - £19.6m
Josh McPake (Queen’s Park) - Loan
Glenn Middleton (Dundee United) - Undisclosed
Jack Simpson (Cardiff City) - Free
Mateusz Zukowski (Lech Poznan) - Loan
Nikola Katic (Zurich) - Undisclosed
Total - £27.5m
Rangers net spend between 2020 and 2022 - minus £26.8m
Celtic net spend between 2020 and 2022 - £10.45m
