"We need to be aggressive in our approach but within the financial constraints of a club like ours. It could be unsettling with players in and out quickly but, if you look at the models of clubs our size, they’re very agile."

The Celtic support was warned by Ange Postecoglou at the AGM back in November at the likely departure of some fan favourites in the January transfer window.

Josip Juranovic has already made his mark by assisting the winning goal for Union Berlin at Werder Bremen to go second in the Bundesliga, while Giorgos Giakoumakis looks like he may well have pulled on the Hoops jersey for a final time.

The proactive approach to transfer dealings that has characterised the partnership between Michael Nicholson and Postecoglou over the past three windows rightly comes as a relief.

Replacements in the form of Alistair Johnston and Oh Hyeon-gyu were in the door before Juranovic and Giakoumakis have been allowed to leave.

But the reported fees for two internationals that were key to last season’s title triumph and the opening of a nine-point gap at the top of the table this season have been underwhelming.

Just weeks after playing in starring role in shutting down Vinicius Junior to help Croatia past Brazil into the World Cup semi-finals, Juranovic has gone for £7.5million rising to £10m.

READ MORE: Celtic, Giorgos Giakoumakis and the unneeded transfer panic button

If reports are to be believed, Giakoumakis is set to leave for as little as £3m, just a fraction over what Celtic paid VVV Venlo for him 18 months ago.

At 27 and 28 respectively, Juranovic and Giakoumakis offer little in likely sell-on value to buyers, limiting Celtic’s asking price.

Yet the relatively low fees are a concern if the next part of Postecoglou’s vision is to take shape.

"We have to understand to be a Champions League club – the ones we can compare ourselves with – the ones who make an impact is they are constantly there,” added the Aussie at the AGM. “Then, once there, look to continually grow in the football aspect within resources and finances."

A return to European football’s top table earlier this season served as a stark reminder that domestic dominance is no guarantee of success when faced with a giant step up in class in the Champions League.

Celtic Way:

Coming from the small pond of Scottish football, Champions League qualification and efficient player trading on a yearly basis are Celtic’s only options if they are to bridge that gap.

But the fees commanded for Juranovic and Giakoumakis are just the latest example of a trend Celtic must quickly turnaround to compete with even those clubs outwith Europe’s top five leagues in the Champions League.

On the three occasions Celtic have made it through the group stages to the last 16, they did so by beating Benfica into second place.

In the decade since that last happened in 2012-13, the Portuguese giants have moved into a different stratosphere when it comes to demanding top dollar for their best players.

In response to Chelsea’s interest in their own World Cup star, Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, Benfica have demanded the Premier League club meet his €120m buyout clause.

When the draw was made for this season’s group stages, hopes were high that Celtic could at least pip Shakhtar Donetsk to third place behind Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.

That proved not to be the case in no small part to Mykhailo Mudryk, who twice denied Postecoglou’s men victory over the Ukrainians. Despite the economic turmoil caused to Shakhtar by Russia’s invasion, they too dug in and refused to budge on a €100m asking price for Mudryk which eventually saw the winger end up at Chelsea rather than Arsenal earlier this month.

Shakhtar’s stance was, in part, based on the €100m Ajax received from Manchester United for Antony.

In this window alone, PSV Eindhoven have brought in nearly €80m for Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke. Club Brugge have thrived to reach the last 16 of the Champions League despite selling their prized asset, Charles De Ketelaere, to AC Milan for €35m.

Having brought in €120m in transfer fees already this season, Sporting Club de Portugal are holding firm on their €45m valuation of right-back Pedro Porro amid Tottenham’s interest.

The selling clubs in all these cases are not the economic powerhouses of the Premier League or European giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich that have long been out of Celtic’s reach financially. Instead, they are the level of club the Hoops have to compete with to do anything of note in a Champions League group stage or even the Europa League.

Nine clubs from outside the top five leagues were seeded higher than Celtic for this season’s Champions League group stage draw, the majority of which were in pot three and four: Porto, Ajax, Salzburg, Shakhtar, Benfica, Sporting, Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Copenhagen and Club Brugge.

Of those only Copenhagen and, you guessed it, Rangers have brought in less than Celtic in transfer fees over the past five years. That is a period that includes the sales of Moussa Dembele, Kieran Tierney, Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Jeremie Frimpong.

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

In an alternative universe where Ben Doak shuns Liverpool’s advances last January to sign a new five-year deal at Parkhead before tearing onto the Champions League stage Mudryk-style last Autumn, what would Celtic’s asking price have been this January? Can anyone say with confidence it would have been north of £50m, never mind the fees being demanded by Benfica, Shakhtar, Salzburg or Sporting?

That simply has to change when the time comes to cash in on Celtic’s younger crop of top assets such as Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and Matt O’Riley.

If that is the case then the flipping of Juranovic and Giakoumakis for a fast buck can be justified. As Postecoglou revealed this week, their experience was key to moulding a title-winning squad in incredibly short order last season.

The concern is that the departure of both players is just part of a wider trend of setting a low bar when it comes to shopping for the best talent in Scotland. Should that go on, the gulf even between Europe’s second class and Celtic will continue to grow.