‘Very good’ - Sky Sports expert drops ‘significant’ off-field claim at Celtic; big for Nicholson

According to Sky Sports football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Celtic could use Champions League football as an advantage to beat Premier League clubs to new signings during the upcoming transfer window.

The Hoops mathematically secured the Scottish Premiership title following a 1-1 draw against Dundee United last week, and went on to lift the trophy just three days later after completing a 6-0 thrashing over Motherwell.

As a result of topping the league, Ange Postecoglou’s side banked £3.35m in prize money, and with UEFA’s current ban on Russian teams, alongside the strong coefficient in Scotland, Celtic have automatically qualified for the 2022-23 Champions League group stage.

Things just get better and better for the Hoops, as that qualification could apparently bank upwards of £40million next season.

Maguire, a regular feature on Sky Sports, has suggested that the opportunity of playing European football will give Celtic a huge advantage as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of the start of next season.

He claimed that while the prize money gap from first to second isn’t ‘significant’, that UCL spot very much is, telling Football Insider: “The Scottish Premiership’s prize money is quite a smooth slope.

“There isn’t a significant step up in terms of finishing first or finishing second but if they are trying to compete with Premier League clubs for recruitment, this helps a lot.

“They can now say ‘well, we can pay you a decent wage plus we can offer you Champions League football.’

“Their recruitment this season seems to have been very good in terms of signing good value players anyway.”

The Bhoys last participated in the Champions League group stage during the 2017/18 campaign, when they ended up finishing in