Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes that Celtic's sale of Jeremie Frimpong will counteract some of the financial damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Maguire reacts

The 20-year-old left Parkhead in January to sign for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5m, in what was an unexpected move for the Bhoys to make.

In his replacement, Everton's Jonjoe Kenny was brought in on loan until the end of the season. However, doubts have been cast over Celtic's willingness to pay his wages, if the deal is made permanent next summer.

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire believes that the club will significantly benefit from offloading Frimpong, which may explain the Hoops' decision to sell him.

“Celtic have a fanbase that will turn up as soon as they are able to do so, which is great," he said. "The downside is that the club is more dependent on matchday income than the vast majority of clubs in Europe.

“Scottish Premiership clubs generate a greater proportion of matchday income than any other of UEFA’s 55 members.

“That’s great because it shows the fanbase is so committed. But it also means that when fans can’t attend, the club itself becomes more vulnerable to a downturn.

“The one thing they have which will counterbalance those losses is the sale of Frimpong.

“We only have a rough idea of the fee and we don’t how much the sell-on clause might be but at least it will help to counterbalance the losses.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

After the £3.7m payout they received in competition funds, being knocked out of the Europa League at the Group Stage will mean that they lost out on further vital assets.

This will only pile the pressure on manager Neil Lennon more. Not only are they not where they want to be on the pitch, but the Hoops are also suffering away from it.

Time will tell whether the board change their stance in the summer, with whispers of mass changes at the club due to take place.

In other news, Alan Hutton drops Neil Lennon claim regarding why he remains at Parkhead.