Celtic opted not to spend big ahead of this summer’s Champions League qualifiers and ended up qualifying for the Europa League after losing to Kairat in the play-offs.
Their cautious approach to these qualifications and the fact that they failed to qualify for the league stage of the Champions League meant that they did not make any major signings.
The Hoops did not sign a player for more than £6m in the summer transfer window, a year after signing Adam Ida from Norwich for £9.5m, Arne Engels from Augsburg for £11m and Auston Trusty from Sheffield United for £6m.
Their decision not to spend big this summer may have been partly due to the money spent last year not being successful, as Idah is set to leave 12 months after joining Parkhead for £9.5m.
How much Celtic lost on Adam Ida
Celtic paid a whopping £9.5 million to sign the Ireland international from the Canaries following an initial five-month loan spell with the English side.
As shown above, Idah scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Scottish Premiership giants last season, but still averaged less than one goal every other game.
As a result, the club ended up sanctioning his move to Swansea City for £6m on deadline day in early September, meaning Boyes took a £3.5m hit to his value after just 12 months at Parkhead.
But Ider is not the only player among the trio of big-money signings in 2024 who failed to provide value in Glasgow. The Hoops should also be considering a move away from Trustee.
Why Celtic should sell Auston Trusty
As mentioned above, Celtic paid £6 million to sign the American international to strengthen their central defensive options, making him the seventh-expensive signing in the club’s history.
Trustee’s performances on the pitch for the Hoops have not been worth the price, with him ranked second to Liam Scales in the left-sided centre-back position.
The left-footed flop, described as “powerful” by Brendan Rodgers, outperformed the Irish international in last season’s Scottish Premiership, as shown in the stats below.
24/25 Premiership | Liam Scales | Auston Trustee |
|---|---|---|
Appearance | 26 | twenty two |
clean sheet | 14 | 10 |
Tackles + Interceptions per game | 1.9 | 2.3 |
dribbled past | 5 times | 11 times |
Error led to shot/goal | 1 | 5 |
Duel success rate | 72% | 64% |
Statistics by Sofascore | ||
Trusty had not started any Premiership games at the start of this season before suffering a heel injury, which has kept him sidelined in recent weeks.
As a result of mistakes and poor performances, the American central defender’s market value at Parkhead has fallen by millions of dollars since his £6 million move from Sheffield United.
According to Transfermarkt, Trustee’s market value has risen from €7m at the time of his move to Celtic to €5m at the time of writing (14 October 2025), meaning he is now valued at around £4m.
This is £2m less than what Swansea paid for Ayda and £2m less than the Hoops paid to sign him from Sheffield United last year, and shows the club’s dissatisfaction with the defender.
That’s why the Scottish giants should consider cutting Trustee’s losses in the upcoming January transfer window, before his market value plummets further and he incurs even bigger losses.
Celtic already have to pay a £3.5m transfer fee for Eider, who is on a summer deal from 2024, and could have to pay a £2m transfer fee for Trusty unless he can turn his Parkhead career around in the coming months.
