Untapped markets: How Celtic provide an example for all of Scottish football

Ange Postecoglou was appointed manager of Celtic in 2021. Almost immediately after his unveiling, the Australian hinted at his desire to tap into markets that hadn't been tapped by Scottish clubs prior to his arrival in Glasgow . In his 20 months in the Parkhead hot seat so far, Postecoglou has more than delivered on his promise.

Since joining the club, Celtic have signed a total of 26 players, including 10 from non-European clubs. In other words, 38% of players signed by Postceoglou for Celtic come from Asia or the Americas. This change in recruitment marks a refreshing change from years past when the Hoops mainly explored the UK and European markets. For example, during the 2020 summer transfer window, Celtic signed six new players, all from European or British clubs.

This tantalizing change in where the club buys its players has brought several positives. Whether it is the quality they bring to the field, the outsized value they provide, the widespread growth in exposure and fan base they have enabled, or the vast opportunities for marketing that their presences provided, Celtic players signed from far lands brought a plethora of prosperity. This article will dive into all the positive aspects of Celtic exploring relatively murky markets and examine how it may have been a catalyst for change in the Scottish Premiership.

It's fair to say that the many hidden markets that Celtic have recently begun to explore have provided the Hoops with top level players for a relatively budgeted price compared to other storefronts.

Art by Onkar Shirsekar

The first player the Hoops brought in from the J. League was forward Kyogo Furuhashi. The Japanese striker was arguably the most successful Celtic signing under Ange Postecoglou, having netted a colossal 50 goals in just 79 games across all competitions. His extremely intelligent movement and clinical finishing ability make him one of the leading strikers in Scotland and Europe. Celtic were able to secure his services for just €5.4m in the summer of 2021, just weeks after Ange Postecoglou was appointed as Parkhead manager.

The Aussie has been a huge driving force in Celtic exploring markets he hadn't touched before and in his first winter window as club boss he dove straight into the market Japan to sign not one, not two, but three new players. Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and...