Chris Sutton has ripped into Celtic's transfer strategy after the club sold Arne Engels before their Champions League qualifier vs LASK.
The Hoops raked in around £22million for the Belgian who joined West Ham earlier this month but Sutton could hardly believe the Hoops' decision to allow the midfielder to depart.
With such crunch games on the horizon - which Celts lost 5-4 on aggregate after an almighty collapse - Engels could have been one star to make the difference from a defensive standpoint.
And it was another gamble taken by the hierarchy that Sutton says they did not need to take with the Champions League.
🍀 "This is all to do with the way the club is run at the top end and that's where the blame lies" Chris Sutton discusses Celtic’s Champions League qualifying defeats from over the years, and where it’s gone wrong ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/YlETPDZRs4
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 30, 2026
"What they have done over the years is sell their best players before the biggest game of the season, and I don't get that," Sutton told Sky Sports. "And I don't get that because in previous seasons Celtic kept Virgil van Dijk, Moussa Dembele for after the qualifiers.
"So it's not a consistent strategy, I don't get the Arne Engels thing. I don't understand how Martin O'Neill talked about his influence, his legs in the team and they can't replace him. So how did that meeting go? You have the signings of Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, everybody felt better because of the level of signing.
"But let's get it right, they were only replacements for Kyogo 18 months ago and Adam Idah who should have been replaced a long time before they were. The fact that Celtic sell the best players, they don't buy before the Champions League, I find that absolutely shambolic.
"I've had many arguments with Celtic fans about the Engels situation, Engels was happy to play at Kilmarnock when he got man of the match, but this is all to do with how the club is run at the top end and that's where the blame lies. You should be giving yourself the best possible chance of qualifying and Celtic haven't done that."
