8 potential Celtic candidates to succeed Mark Lawwell as the next director of football.

After two years, Lawwell resigned as Celtic’s head of first-team scouting and recruitment.

Although Celtic has not yet concluded their search for a new Head of First-Team Scouting and Recruitment, many potential candidates may be taken into consideration. Parkhead officials will be looking to appoint a new talent-spotter ahead of the summer transfer window, following the decision earlier this month by lead scout Joe Dudgeon and Mark Lawwell to resign from his high-ranking position after two years in the role “to pursue fresh challenges”.

Following some dubious transfer activity, Brendan Rodgers publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of quality additions to his squad since returning to Glasgow’s east end for a second stint as manager. This led to harsh criticism of the Hoops’ recruitment team in recent windows.

Considering that Lawwell, the son of Celtic chairman Peter, spent a decade-long stint working for the City Group, rising to the position of head of recruitment and scouting within the global organisation that includes teams like Manchester City and Yokohama F Marinos, a large portion of his work was considered unsuccessful.

The board will have to make a big decision about who will oversee Celtic’s future transfer strategy. Faxsoccer has looked at a few potential candidates who could be considered to fill the role that currently stands between chief executive and manager.

1. Mitchell Paul

After leaving Monaco in October, there were rumoured discussions about a potential director of football position at Liverpool. previously assisted in the recruitment of players like Dele Alli, Son Heung-min, Kieran Trippier, and Toby Alderweireld while working with Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham. went on to RB Leipzig, where they played a key role in bringing Christopher Nkunku on board.

2. Rolfes Simon

After a successful spell as the sporting director at German club Bayer Leverkusen, he is now becoming more and more well-known as the managing director. has shown how good of an eye he is at identifying talent; he brought in Florian Wirtz and even boss Xabi Alonso.

3. David Webb

In May of last year, rumours that the former head of recruitment at Bournemouth would be joining Celtic were downplayed. He has previously worked for teams like York City, Huddersfield Town, Ostersund, Tottenham, and Ostersund, where he was the first-team manager.

4. Neil McGuinness

The person who discovered Virgil Van Dijk—but is he heading back to Celtic in this more senior capacity? Prior to this, McGuinness worked as a first-team scout for the Parkhead club, where he oversaw opposition analysis and worldwide scouting. Has since worked for the Qatar Football Association, most recently as the director of scouting for the Columbus Crew of the Major League Soccer.

5. Doug Freedman

The Scot was named sporting director of Crystal Palace after leaving as manager of Nottingham Forest. oversaw the signing of several standout players, such as England international Marc Guehi, who helped the Selhurst Park team remain a mainstay in the Premier League.

6. Frederic Massara

At the 2022 Globe Soccer Awards, Massara—who most recently held the position of director of football at Serie A powerhouse AC Milan—and fellow club director Paolo Maldini were named Sporting Directors of the Year. In addition, he worked for AS Roma and Inter Milan under Walter Sabatini.

7. Johnson Tommy

As part of a reorganisation, the former Celtic striker departed from his role as director of football at Blackpool, an EFL League One team, in 2021. He declined the opportunity to take a senior recruitment role at Parkhead, as was previously reported. Is this the ideal moment to return north of the border?

8. Tognozzi Matteo

worked for Juventus for more than six years before leaving the team in October of last year. was brought in at the time due to his skill, worth, and scouting background. Previously worked as the Supervisor of Scouting for Foreign Countries.

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