Celtic have defended their summer transfer business in the face of criticism from fans, insisting that “throwing money” around is “not a sustainable route to success”.

The Scottish Premiership champions made that affirmation in a statement, external released late on Saturday, which followed “constructive” meetings with supporters’ groups the previous day.

It was the club’s first public missive since the transfer window closed five days ago – a window in which the Scottish Premiership champions signed 12 players.

Three of the most notable arrivals – Sebastian Tounekti, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Kelechi Iheanacho – came after the club’s Champions League qualification exit at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty.

That sparked anger amid fans, many of whom pointed to the failure to adequately replace departed stars such as Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi despite the club enjoying significant cash reserves.

And manager Brendan Rodgers has also, at times, voiced his frustration at both the timing and the nature of the business done by Celtic this summer.