Mark Cooper takes over Celtic recruitment after Lawwell is fired.

Mark Cooper takes over Celtic recruitment after Lawwell is fired.

When Lawwell is no longer with Celtic, Mark Cooper takes over recruitment.

After two brilliant transfer windows driven by Ange Postecoglou the profile of the squad was transformed but

three windows overseen by Mark Lawwell reversed that process.

In the summer of 2022 Sead Haksabanovic, Alexandro Bernabei and Ben Siegrist were signed

alongside loan deals for Mortiz Jenz and Oliver Abildgaard.

None of those players made it into this season’s Champions League squad.

Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn were recruited in January of this year,

and it appears that both were brought in by Brendan Rodgers rather than Lawwell and his Recruitment Team.

Other than a brief notice announcing Lawwell’s departure, Celtic has said nothing officially about their recruitment ambitions,

but McGowan tells the Daily Mail:

Celtic, meanwhile, has signed veteran South American talent scout Mark Cooper as part of a reform of the club’s scouting strategy.

Mark Lawwell, son of Celtic chairman Peter, and top scout Joe Dudgeon left the Parkhead club in March to

‘pursue new challenges’ as part of a recruitment department shake-up.

Cooper was previously located in South America and worked in MLS, but the Scot has now been attracted back to Glasgow for a full-time position.

Cooper, who is highly regarded by boss Rodgers, has been tasked with raising the bar in first-team recruitment.

Celtic’s hit rate came under scrutiny after a number of the club’s summer recruits failed to hit the ground running at first-team level.

They targeted players aged 19 to 23, with international experience and meeting specific financial criteria.

Nicolas Kuhn was the sole new signing to start in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Hearts, out of a dozen in the last two transfer windows.

Goalkeeper, the left side of defense, midfield, and attack are all expected to be strengthened this summer,

and Cooper has already begun compiling a list of individuals who could make an impact.

As part of the backroom overhaul, Celtic has appointed former B team coach Darren O’Dea as Professional Player Pathway Manager,

responsible for the development of young players at Lennoxtown.

Celtic have loaned out Marco Tilio, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, and Bernabei since the turn of the year,

with all three recently signed to long-term contracts.

Siegrist and Yuki Kobayashi are also on long-term contracts and have not played a single minute of first-team football this season.

Cooper’s priority will be to bring in players of the quality of Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers,

but a big clearout is also required, with the first-team roster comfortably over 30 and worries over Gus Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki’s future at the club.

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