For months now there has been speculation about Victor Wanyama returning to Celtic.
In August the midfielder appeared close to joining Bruges but after stalling on that move he returned to Spurs with little likelihood of first team football.
Back in 2011 Lennon plucked the young Wanyama from Belgian side Beershot ahead of big money moves to Southampton and Spurs.
When the transfer window opens in January there is bound to be speculation about Wanyama returning to Celtic but in the meantime new Head of Football Operations Nicky Hammond will be tasked with finding the next generation of Wanyama’s and Virgil van Dijk’s.
Discussing the club’s new scouting philosophy Lennon told The Sun:
Is it more difficult nowadays to find the likes of a Wanyama? I think it is, just through competition and the money out there but Nicky is excited and very enthusiastic about it, so hopefully we’ll have some good players to look at between now and January.
If he sees someone he likes he comes walking in. Don’t bother emailing me! He’ll say, ‘Come and have a look at this’. I much prefer it that way. It’s important to see players with your own eyes, whether I watch them or Nicky watches them a couple of times.
He’s been to see players in the past for us, particularly in the summer. Sometimes stats can hide things and sometimes they can overdo things too.
During the last two transfer windows Celtic have brought in a number of ‘project signings’ such as Andrew Gutman, Lee O’Connor, Marian Shved, Manny Perez, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Afolabi as well as established players such as Hatem Abd Elhamed and Christopher Jullien.
Hammond has a high-water mark to hit after the success of Van Dijk and Wanyama but appears to be on the same wavelength as Lennon who knows the unique demands placed on players arriving at Celtic.