Celtic market values: Palma, Scales and O’Riley rise as squad market value jumps to €134m

With Rangers in the midst of a tricky transition season under a new manager, Celtic’s dominance of the Scottish Premiership seems unlikely to be coming to an end anytime soon and that has once again been demonstrated in the new Transfermarkt market value update. A number of the Glasgow club’s biggest stars saw their market values rise significantly, while other members of the squad have either allowed age or poor form to impact on their values.

The five biggest Celtic increases in market value

Matt O’Riley: With injuries limiting Reo Hatate’s impact in Rodgers’ team this season, the attacking thrust from Celtic’s midfield has almost single-handedly come from 23-year-old Dane Matt O’Riley. Signed for just €1.8m from MK Dons in January of last year, O’Riley has gone from strength to strength at Celtic Park and can lay claim to an impressive tally of seven goals and seven assists in 20 games across all competitions this season, including an all-important assists in the 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox near the start of the season. In many ways, O’Riley has been Celtic’s most important players and is the shoe-in for major individual awards at the end of the season.

Liam Scales: If there has been one surprise package at Celtic this season it has undoubtedly come in the form of 25-year-old central defender Liam Scales. Despite impressing on loan at Aberdeen last season, few would have expected the Irish international to elbow his way to the front of Rodgers’ defence ahead of more high-profile defenders such as Maik Nawrocki - who joined the club in the summer for €5m. And yet, it has been Scales that has established himself alongside Cameron Carter-Vicker and was recently described by his manager as “the biggest surprise” of his career.

Kyogo Furuhashi: There’s little doubt that under Rodgers and a notable change in tactics, Kyogo Furuhashi has been tasked with playing a more supporting role in attack rather than being the enigmatic talisman that he was under Ange Postecoglou last season. Despite that, the Japanese international has still managed to bag eight goals and three assists in 21 games for the Glasgow club and remains their most important forward.

Luis Palma: Signed in the summer transfer window for a hefty €4.75m price tag, Luis Palma arrived at Celtic Park with the explicit instruction of hitting the ground running. And for the most part that’s exactly what he has done. After starting the season on the bench for Rodgers’ side, the Honduras international has forced his way into a starting role for Celtic thanks to his fantastic ability to score and create goals in equal measure. To date the 23-year-old talent has bagged seven goals and eight assists in 19 games and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Hyun-Jun Yang: Signed in the summer transfer window for a fee of €2.5m, few would have expected Hyun-Jun Yang to immediately transition from the K-League directly into the Scottish Premiership. And while the 21-year-old forward hasn’t exactly hit top form to date, with just two goals and assists in 18 appearances, his continued presence off the bench proves that Rodgers has plenty of confidence in the young player developing into a promising player in the coming years.

The five biggest decreases in market value

Joe Hart: The former England shot-stopper has proved to be a smart signing and crucial member of Celtic’s first team since making the move to the Premiership club in 2021. However, Joe Hart is now 36 years of age and even though goalkeepers tend to peak at a later date than outfield players there’s little doubt that the keeper is beginning to show his age. So much so that replacing him with a new long-term solution is likely to be one of Celtic’s main tasks in the next transfer window.

Maik Nawrocki: Signed for a sizable sum of €5m from Legia Warszawa in the summer window, Maik Nawrocki was widely expected to be a ready-made partner to sit alongside Carter-Vickers at the heart of Celtic’s defence this season. However, as previously noted, Scales has instead stepped into that role and as a result the Polish defender has hardly featured this season. There’s little concern over Nawrocki’s future at Celtic, but for now he’s having to put up with a spot on the bench.

Liel Abada: Liel Abada was at the peak of his powers last season in a Postecoglou Celtic side that allowed him to feature as a useful sub or hard-working starter. However, the player’s standing in the squad has undoubtedly dropped somewhat under the new manager this season largely due to a nasty torn thigh muscle and as a result his contributions in terms of goals and assists have suffered. To date Abada has only bagged two goal contributions in five games for Celtic this season.

Alexandro Bernabéi: Having joined the club last year for a big fee of €4.35m, Alexandro Bernabéi was expected to become Celtic’s first-choice left back but has instead struggled to make an impression at the Glasgow club. The 23-year-old defender was used as a back-up player last season and has so far featured in just 43 minutes of game time in the Premiership as Rodgers has stuck with his preferred option of Greg Taylor at left back.

Gustaf Lagerbielke: Much like the aforementioned Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke joined Celtic in the summer for a sizable fee and has so far struggled to live up to the hype. After starting four of Celtic’s first five league games of the season, Lagerbielke was unceremoniously dropped by Rodgers and has struggled to make it into the club’s matchday squad since then.

Celtic squad worth €33m more than Rangers, doubled in value since 2021

Celtic’s overall squad market value saw an increase of 5.3% from €126.65m to where it now stands at €133.35m. Not only is that an increase of €6.7m since November 2023, but it also now means that the Glasgow club can boast a squad market value that is €33.15m higher than their cross-city rivals Rangers. In fact, the Celtic Park side have more than doubled their squad market value since December 2021, when it stood at just €65.5m. Which is the highest rise among any club in the Scottish Premiership in that time period.