Coventry City and Celtic will both have zero regrets over £6m transfer agreement | OneFootball

In the summer of 2001, Coventry City sold striker John Hartson to Celtic for £6m, a deal that would suit all parties down to the ground.

When Coventry City were relegated from the Premier League in 2001, they were left with little option but to sell some of their most prized assets, and in the case of one particular player they landed a deal which suited all parties well.

Relegation from the Premier League comes at a substantial financial cost to clubs, and when this happens it is often necessary to balance the books by selling players to plug that gap. Coventry City had been in the top-flight of English football for 34 years by 2001, sometimes performing amazing acts of escapology to retain their place. But that year their luck finally ran out.

But in the case of one player, they landed themselves a deal that suited them and, as things ended up turning out, the player himself and the purchasing club as well. He'd been a gamble of a signing on account of previous fitness issues and his stay at Highfield Road turned out to be brief, but the brief amount of time that John Hartson spent with Coventry would end up turning a handsome profit for the Sky Blues.

John Hartson's career had been dogged by controversy by the time he arrived at Coventry

John Hartson was already an established Premier League name by the time he joined Coventry City in 2001, but he was gamble for any club to take by that time. His career had been dogged by controversy from the very start. While still a youth player with Luton Town, his career almost stalled when he was caught stealing a bank card from the family with whom he was lodging.

But Luton kept faith in him, and after three years in their first team squad he was sold on to Arsenal, and then to West Ham United. The biggest controversy of his career came at West Ham in 1998, when he kicked team-mate Eyal Berkovic in the head during a training session, an incident which earned him a £10,000 fine and a charge from the FA for misconduct. His form suffered as a result and he was moved on to Wimbledon in 1999.

Concerns about his fitness by this time were widespread and well-known. Proposed moves to Spurs and Rangers collapsed after he failed medicals. But Wimbledon were relegated from the Premier League in 2000 and needed him off their books, and by the January 2001 transfer window any sort of move would suit all parties well.

Hartson's transfer would be a success for the player, Coventry and Celtic

By January 2001, Coventry City were struggling in the Premier League again. As the January 2001 transfer window opened, they were just one place and one point above the relegation places, and with just 21 scored in 22 games, they needed to get goals from somewhere. But Hartson's controversies and fitness concerns made him a gamble, and when he signed for the Sky Blues it was on a pay-per-play deal.

As things turned out, Hartson did score goals for Coventry, but this wasn't enough to keep them in the Premier League. His six goals meant that he ended the season as their joint-top goalscorer in the league alongside Craig Bellamy and Mustapha Hadji, even though he'd only made 12 appearances for them. But the Sky Blues couldn't find the required consistency, and one point from their final four matches of the season was enough to send them down to Division One.

But although he'd signed for Coventry on a pay-per-play deal, he was still a full signing for them on a free transfer, and that summer they received an offer they couldn't refuse. Celtic offered £6 million to take him north of the border, and with Coventry needing to balance their books following relegation, the sale was agreed.

Hartson would go on to become a hero at Celtic Park. Over the next five years, he would score 106 goals for them in 199 appearances in all competitions for them. He won the only silverware of his career there too, and it was quite a haul; three Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup.

But Coventry also profited handsomely from the sale of Hartson. They picked him up for free and turned a profit of £6 million on the sale. His transfer to Highfield Road may not have been enough to keep the Sky Blues in the Premier League, but the money they received from his sale was a useful consolation prize.