“One Of The Most Important Signings Of The Season” Sutton Backs Celtic’s Newest Recruit

“One Of The Most Important Signings Of The Season” Sutton Backs Celtic’s Newest Recruit

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has backed the club’s decision to appoint Nick Hammond as the club’s head of football operations. The Hoops confirmed the appointment of the former West Brom technical director earlier this week.

Hammond is believed to have a lot more power than predecessor Lee Congerton, and Sutton thinks that it could lead to chief executive Peter Lawwell moving out of the limelight:

“Celtic’s new head of football operations is still one of the most important signings of the season. We have yet to discover Hammond’s actual remit beyond the fancy and unfathomable title. But it does look like he has been handed the keys to Celtic Park by Peter Lawwell.”

Despite the Bhoys targeting nine league titles in a row this season, they have struggled to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League in recent years due to poor recruitment and Sutton believes Hammand’s appointment could herald a change in approach and improved prospects on the European front:

“A manager is only as good as his recruitment and Hammond has to give Lennon the tools to win nine in a row – but also to shake off this perception Celtic are now a Europa League club. They’ve only reached the Champions League group stage twice in six years and that is not good enough for a club of this stature.”

Hammond is said to have been influential in signing a number of young players such as Jeremie Frimpong and Lee O’Connor who arrived late in the summer transfer window, but it is not known how much say he had in the rest of the recruitment. The first indications of any changes in the transfer strategy are likely to be seen in January.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.