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Dermot Desmond takes lead role in Celtic ‘recruitment’

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Image for Dermot Desmond takes lead role in Celtic ‘recruitment’

Two days before he sends Ange Postecoglou into a Champions League qualifier seriously under-strength Dermot Desmond has been named as the driving force behind Celtic’s recruitment process.

Liel Abada is the only addition to last season’s squad that Postecoglou has to work with while Scott Brown and Kris Ajer have moved on elsewhere.

It seems that the 6-2 defeat from West Ham on Saturday has set alarm bells ringing over the neglect of the Celtic squad since July 2018.

A year ago Nick Hammond and Peter Lawwell were masterminding the squad rebuild but after a disastrous season at home and abroad neither is still involved at the club.

Since 2018 Chris Jullien is the only player to have made any worthwhile contribution while speculative signings like Marian Shved, Vakoun Bayo, Patryk Klimala, Hatem Abd Elhamed, Manny Perez and Andrew Gutman have offered nothing but a drain on pay roll.

Last December the Celtic board announced a managerial review, it seems like only in the last few days have they realised that the current squad is way short of what is required.

Jonjoe Kenny, Diego Laxalt and Shane Duffy were brought in on loan last season, with those deals expired no replacements will be on the pitch tomorrow in Denmark.

The Daily Record reveals:

Dermot Desmond is taking a hands-on approach in helping Ange Postecoglou to rebuild his Celtic squad. The majority shareholder has been openly involved in the transfer deals of the Hoops this summer.

Desmond has been dealing directly with a number of top figures in the transfer market and his manager as he looks to strengthen and reshape the Celtic squad.

The Irish billionaire came in for some major criticism from some elements of the Celtic support for not being hands-on last season as the Hoops blew the chance to make it 10-in-a-row, but has been very much active this summer.

It has been a time of change at Celtic with Postecoglou coming in and chief executive Dominic McKay replacing the long-serving Peter Lawwell.

Beyond the EPL and the Irish connections it’s difficult to understand what contacts Desmond has in football.

The Dublin based businessman is believed to have been the driving force to bring in Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Brendan Rodgers. On the playing side the arrivals of Robbie Keane, Roy Keane and Paddy McCourt are believed to have been influenced by Celtic’s biggest individual shareholder.

Last September Desmond told The Athletic that Neil Lennon’s squad was superior to the squad that reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final under Martin O’Neill.

Over the next week Carl Starfelt and Kyogo Furuhashi will join the Celtic squad. Bosman deals Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide were the only additions to the squad that played three pre-season friendlies in Wales.

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