OIL BE THERE FOR YOU CELTS

Scott: Smart business by Celts. They’ve taken Jota petrol dollars and invested them in Kyogo

- KEITH JACKSON

THE way Scott McDonald sees it is very simple. 

If you suddenly find yourself swimming in a deep pool of Saudi oil money, you might as well buy yourself something nice with it. Like a pair of golden handcuffs for the most important player you have left.

And that’s precisely what Celtic did yesterday morning when, before Al-Ittihad’s millions had even dropped into the bank account, the club had announced that star striker and talisman Kyogo Furuhashi had been tied down on a new four-year deal.

“Look, it’s smart business by Celtic,” McDonald said as he looked back on a tumultuous few days and weeks in Glasgow’s east end from his new home on Australia’s Gold Coast. News travels fast.

The former Parkhead poacher went on: “They’ve taken some of the money they’ve brought in from Jota’s sale and the first thing they’ve done with it is use it to protect a player who is arguably their next biggest asset.

“What they are saying here is that, ‘We can’t let another one go!’

“I’m sure that will come as a relief to the fans who have been left reeling a little bit by seeing Jota follow Ange Postecoglou out of the door.

“Getting Kyogo tied down sends out a message that the club is still in a strong place.

“Losing Kyogo in this window would have left them with too much to replace. And how much money would that have cost?

“From a business point of view, it just wouldn’t have made any sense no matter how much profit they end up clearing on Jota’s move.

“It’s been a crazy few days, just to think that Jota has now gone there, along with Steven Gerrard. But, whatever you think of what’s going on in Saudi Arabia, Celtic have to continue to take care of their own business.