THE SOUNDTRACK to Celtic’s title party a few weeks back was the Champions League theme tune. Given the impact it will have on the club, it is little wonder that it was a fitting accompaniment to the party.

Players remain on downtime or international duty and it will be months yet before the Hoops will learn their fate in Europe’s premier tournament - yet already the impact of guaranteed Champions League football has been felt.

If the loan deals for Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers are realised over the next few weeks it will owe much to the club’s involvement in the tournament. Firstly, the prestige that it represents with an opportunity to play on a coveted stage cannot be underestimated in terms of a significant carrot for player carefully choosing their next step.

And given the financial guarantees which come with group participation there is no ambiguity about budgets this summer. Two players who were pivotal to last season’s title winning campaign, the outlay to sign Jota and Carter-Vickers would take Celtic’s signing this month to just over £18million - £6m plus £4m add-ons is the deal for the American international added to the £6.5m agreed with Benfica for Jota. There is also the £2m for Daizen Maeda as his January deal from Yokahama F Marinos was made permanent.

Of note is that if the above transfers are concluded, it would point to a whopping £42m outlay on players since the arrival of Ange Postecgolou last June. The likelihood is that it is just the start of the summer business.

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There is not the same widespread surgery required as there was last season – 16 first-team players were introduced to the club across the summer and January transfer windows – but there will be a need to strengthen given the demands of the domestic and European campaigns, concertinaed together for an intense opening half of the season due to the timing of this year’s World Cup.

With £40m set to be a comfortable expectation from involvement in the Champions League, Celtic now find themselves in a position of strength that felt significantly beyond them this time a year ago.

There is a prevailing mood of optimism around the club given the manner in which Postecoglou hasn’t just assimilated himself into Celtic but rather how he has presented and assembled a winning team. And while the Champions League fanfare further encourages that, it is also an opportunity for the Hoops to improve from a position of strength.

Given his reiteration this week regarding buses and their parking, it is fair to say that there will not be an overly pragmatic approach expected. Yet there is no such thing as a free lunch in the tournament as Celtic will know from bruising results the last time they took part in the tournament.

If Postecoglou felt like the most significant piece of business they conducted a year ago, there was also the player sales which funded the business the Greek-Australian was able to do in the transfer market. Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie brought in around £14m, £13.5m and £3m.

The departures this summer are anticipated to be less in stature but there remains a bloated element to Celtic’s squad. There are considerable heavy hitters there, though, in terms of salaries with likes of goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas expected to be on strong financial terms.

Trimming the squad and freeing up further funds will be a vital part of the strategy as Postecoglou looks towards his second term in office.