It’s a funny old footballing ecosystem we have in Scotland.
While Celtic and Rangers rue the cash some of their European rivals can spend in comparison to their own budgets, the rest of the Premiership are left looking on and thinking ‘what about us?’ Because while Lyon spent more on one player than Rangers did on their entire squad, and Borussia Dortmund’s goalkeeper cost more than Celtic’s record signing, it’s the same challenge every other team in the country faces when they travel to Ibrox or Parkhead. Just ask St Johnstone, who lost 6-0 at home to the champions, before they travelled to Dortmund three days later and shipped seven.
Title-chasing Aberdeen are the biggest spenders outside of Glasgow’s big two but even their relatively expensively-assembled squad is pocket change compared to the teams sandwiching them top of the table. Record Sport take a look and estimate how much each of the 12 Premiership teams spent assembling their current squads.
Celtic – £69.3m
To the delight of the fans, Celtic loosened the purse strings this summer and reinvested the chunky end of Matt O’Riley’s club-record fee back into the squad. In came Arne Engels (£11m) and Auston Trusty (£6m) among others, and touching £70m, this is one of the most expensively put-together Celtic teams in recent years. So far it’s translated domestically, with their perfect record still intact, but not so much in Europe, where they were thrashed 7-1 by Dortmund. Finding a way to close that chasm, competitively at least, is one of the defining challenges facing Brendan Rodgers.
Rangers – £21.6m
As Philippe Clement made abundantly clear, Rangers didn’t have much cash to splash in the summer. Yet they still brought in Nedim Bajrami on deadline day – who cost more than the entire squads of nine Premiership rivals. It was a busy window with nine new faces coming in, while they also spent to make Mohamed Diomande’s loan permanent. So far, it’s not exactly translated as they sit five points off the top two.
Aberdeen – £4.7m
What a season it’s been so far for the Dons. There’s a long way to go but they look as well-placed as anyone else has been in recent years to present a genuine challenge to the Glasgow duopoly. They’ve done it without really splashing out too – they spent where they have had to on the likes of Topi Keskinen (£850,000) and Sivert Helte Nilsen (£350,000), but Bojan Miovski’s £6.5m exit for Girona leaves them well in the green. £500,000 man Pape Habib Gueye was finally showing some return on the investment in him before his injury, and Duk looks as if he may be a valuable asset once again.
Hearts – £3m
As for Hearts…eek. It’s been the exact opposite and they’re still yet to win domestically, though a victory over Dinamo Minsk on their travels boosted hopes that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. It was a busy window for them but the vast majority of their business was done for free, Yan Dhanda, Blair Spittal and James Penrice brought in on Bosman deals. They did spend on Malachi Boateng and Kenneth Vargas, while the £400,000 they paid to sign Lawrence Shankland back in 2022 continues to pay off.
Hibs – £2.2m
It’s a similar story in Leith, where it hasn’t been quite as bad a start, but still hasn’t been great. Kieron Bowie (£600,000) was the marquee signing there, but injuries have limited his involvement with no starts yet. As far as other fees spent go, Elie Youan (£500,000) and Dylan Levitt (£300,000) are among those racking up the cost, though Dylan Vente, who was tipped to be Kevin Nisbet’s replacement after setting them back more than £500,000, has already been shuffled on.
Dundee United – £900,000
Richard Odada and Jort van der Sande are the only recorded transfer expenses for United after a busy summer, and it’s thought they cost around £850,000 between them. Other than that, it’s been a squad built largely on free transfers over the years – unsurprising considering they were in the Championship last season. There was a ‘conditional fee’ put out on Declan Gallagher before he joined from St Mirren, and given he’s played 40 times since then and helped them back up to the Premiership, it’s likely that’s been paid out already.
Kilmarnock – £600,000
Robby McCrorie and Corrie Ndaba were the only money signings for Derek McInnes this summer, both six-figure investments but neither likely to have been sky high considering their respective contract statuses. The same can be said for Lewis Mayo who looks a highly impressive signing and can consider himself unlucky not to be in the mix with Scotland this international break.
Dundee – £550,000
The second season syndrome bug has bitten with just one win so far for Tony Docherty’s team. But after a productive summer, there’s a feeling they should come good. Losing their captain Luke McCowan so late was hardly ideal with no time to react and replace him. But they did add Billy Koumetio (£300,000) from Liverpool who looks a good addition, while Simon Murray already has a couple of league goals to his name after returning to the club from Ross County. That fee has been kept under lock and key but it’s likely to have been in the region of £250,000.
Ross County – £500,000
The Staggies have one of the bigger budgets of the teams further down but don’t tend to splash out on fees. Ronan Hale, Akil Wright and Joshua Nisbet all cost them small sums this summer but it’s largely been thriftily-assembled over the years. Victor Loturi (£75,000) remains their most expensive recorded investment.
St Mirren – £400,000
The Paisley side’s unlikely rise into European contention has been build on some incredibly clever recruitment. Jonah Ayunga and Toyosi Olusanya were both picked up for snips considering their returns since then, while Conor McMenamin looked every bit the worthwhile addition before injury struck. It’s a solid squad built on a shoestring budget and has them punching above their weight.
Motherwell – £350,000
He’s the best named footballer in the country and after an injury-hit start, Apostollos Stamatelopoulos got off the mark against Hibs before the international break and hopes are now high he’ll be able to kick on. He cost around £250,000 and he and midfielder Callum Slattery are the only two players in the ‘Well squad who cost fees.
St Johnstone – £300,000
A minor transfer fee to Hearts for Makenzie Kirk as well as nominal sums spent on Adama Sidibeh and Matt Smith is about it for Saints as far as their transfer spending goes. Pound for pound, they probably have the smallest budget in the league, and they’ll be hoping Simo Valakari can get them punching above their weight again.