In a previous article for Celtic Underground, I sought to demonstrate the importance of player recruitment. To do so, I contrasted the respective transfer strategies of both Celtic and Porto, and attempted to illustrate that the main markets from which Porto obtained the majority of their players, namely Portugal, Argentina and Brazil, were essential to both Porto's domestic and international success.

However, although player recruitment is very important, it is only half the story. It is only when combined with an intelligent player sales policy that consistent and sustainable financial success is achieved. This in turn provides the club with the required capital to obtain a far higher level of footballer than they would otherwise be able to acquire, leading to improved results on the pitch.

This article examines transfer activity of the two European clubs that have been the best exponents of both player recruitment and sales in recent years: Porto and Udinese. It shall conclude that Celtic should do the following to maximise their potential:

• Maximise transfer income by selling players at their 'peak age': Since 2004, all but 2 of Porto & Udinese's £5m+ sales were aged 22-27.
• Maximising the transfer fee received by pre-planning the player's sale to occur when the player has at least 2 years of their contract remaining and before the 'Webster ruling' is applicable, after the completion of 3 years of a contract.
• Prioritise the purchasing of young players: Since 2004, every Porto purchase 25yr+ has lost money, only 1 Udinese outfield player made money and no Celtic outfielder purchase 25yr+ has made money.
• Develop an expansive scouting network in countries/regions in the most profitable markets that consistently produce inexpensive world-class players, notably Portugal and South America: attending arranged exhibitions of sports agency owned players/teams, alongside numerous other clubs, is not a competitive long-term strategy.