According to a report in The Scottish Sun, Celtic’s chances of returning to the bright lights of the Champions League have improved dramatically with the news that they are all but certain to be seeded throughout the qualification process.
The Sun claims that – realistically – only Swiss side Basel have a chance of pipping them to a seeded place in the final play-off round but currently sit seven points behind league leaders St Gallen with just six games to go.
As a seeded team, the Hoops would avoid the likes of Ajax, Red Bull Salzburg and Olympiakos although in European football’s elite competition anything is possible, as fans of the Parkhead club know only too well having been just minutes away from the group stages last season.
Securing Champions League football would go a long way in persuading the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer to stick around for another season and put up with the monotony of Scottish football whilst taking on the continent’s best during the week.
It would also be a much needed boost to the coffers with still no clarity on when fans will be allowed back into Celtic Park and a reduced TV income from the SPFL due to the early cancellation of the 2019/20 season.
Hoops fans will be buoyed by the news with the process seemingly being made harder every year for clubs outside of the “top five” leagues and the path for respective champions fraught with potential banana skins at every stage – with this year’s competition featuring one-off shoot-out games until the final play-off round, being seeded could play a bigger part than ever before.