Stephen McGowan’s Concerning Celtic Transfer Insight

Mark Lawwell, along with head scout Joe Dudgeon, recently concluded their time at Celtic.

Having joined Celtic from the City Football Group in 2022, Lawwell’s departure comes amid critiques of Celtic’s transfer dealings over the past few seasons. These dealings have been scrutinised for their lack of impact, with some suggesting a direct correlation to Lawwell’s arrival at the club.

Journalist Stephen McGowan, speaking on Graham Spiers’ Press Box podcast, expressed little surprise over Lawwell’s exit, shedding light on the stringent recruitment policies that have governed Celtic’s approach to signings.

According to McGowan, the club has aimed to acquire players aged between 19 and 23, with international experience, on wages ranging from £10,000 to £18,000 a week, and for transfer fees under £5 million.

“Whether Mark Lawwell was responsible for bringing these constraints in or he was given them to work with. Celtic want to sign players between the ages of 19 and 23, they want them to have international experience of some description, their wage will be between 10 to 18 grand a week and they’ll cost under £5 million.

“That to me, I don’t know this for certain, sounds like a boardroom policy. So has that come from Dermot Desmond, the Celtic board or was that Mark Lawwell? We don’t know if he actually initiated that or whether he was asked to work with these constraints.

“Irrespective of the answer, he didn’t do a great job of it. He didn’t pick good enough players.”

23rd September 2023; Almondvale Stadium, Livingston, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, Livingston versus Celtic; Gustaf Lagerbielke of Celtic and Odin Thiago Holm of Celtic

Regardless of the policy’s origins, Mark Lawwell just didn’t do a goof enough job. It was like he was messing around on a football manager save trying to sign all these 5-star potential players, forgetting about the here and now.