Celtic did not opt to splash the cash before the club’s qualifiers for the Champions League this summer, and they ended up in the Europa League after a play-off loss to Kairat.
Their cautious approach to those qualifiers and the fact that they did not qualify for the league phase of the Champions League meant that they did not make any marquee signings.
The Hoops did not sign any players for £6m or more in the summer transfer window, a year after they signed Adam Idah from Norwich for £9.5m, Arne Engels from Augsburg for £11m, and Auston Trusty for £6m from Sheffield United.
Part of their decision not to splash the cash this summer may have been the lack of success from the money spent last year, as Idah ended up leaving 12 months on from his £9.5m move to Parkhead.
How much money Celtic lost on Adam Idah
Celtic committed a huge fee of £9.5m to sign the Ireland international from the Canaries after his initial five-month spell on loan from the English side.
Idah, as shown in the graphic above, scored 20 goals in all competitions last season for the Scottish Premiership giants, yet still averaged less than a goal every other game.
That led to the club sanctioning a £6m move to Swansea City on deadline day at the start of September, which meant that the Bhoys took a £3.5m hit on his value after just 12 months at Parkhead.
Idah is not the only player from that trio of big-money signings in 2024 who did not provide value in Glasgow, though, as the Hoops should also be looking to move on from Trusty.
Why Celtic should sell Auston Trusty
As aforementioned, Celtic paid £6m to sign the USA international to bolster their central defensive options, making him the joint-seventh most expensive signing in the club’s history.
Trusty’s performances on the pitch for the Hoops have not lived up to that expense, as he has found himself behind Liam Scales in the pecking order in the left-sided centre-back position.
The left-footed flop, who was described as “powerful” by Brendan Rodgers, was outperformed by the Ireland international in the Scottish Premiership last season, as shown in the statistics below.
Appearances
26
22
Clean sheets
14
10
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.9
2.3
Dribbled past
5x
11x
Error led to shot/goal
1
5
Duel success rate
72%
64%
Trusty did not start either of his Premiership appearances at the start of the current campaign before suffering a heel injury, which has kept him out of action in recent weeks.
As a result of his poor performances, which have been filled with errors, the American central defender’s market value has dropped by millions at Parkhead since his £6m move from Sheffield United.
Per Transfermarkt, Trusty’s market value has gone from €7m at the time of his move to Celtic to €5m at the time of writing (14/10/2025), which means that he is currently valued at around £4m.
That is £2m less than Swansea paid for Idah and £2m less than the fee that the Hoops paid to sign him from Sheffield United last year, which shows that the club have had a howler with the defender.
Market Movers
Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?
This is why the Scottish giants should be looking to cut their losses on Trusty in the upcoming January transfer window before his market value plummets further and they have to take an even bigger loss.
Celtic have already had to take a hit of £3.5m on Idah from that batch of summer signings from 2024, and they may have to take a hit of £2m on Trusty unless he can turn his Parkhead career around in the next few months.
