As Celtic fans look upon the club’s transfer business with a sense of satisfaction, there has been a subtle question mark hovering in the background over whether or not all the summer signings where Ange Postecoglou’s.
There is absolutely no doubt that Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada were identified by Ange as these guys were clearly in the range of Postecoglou’s radar.
But what about signings like Joe Hart?
Is Hart a name that Postecoglou would have chosen? Considering the big Aussie manager likes his goalkeepers to play with the ball at their feet, Hart’s capture does seem like it was completed by an outside influence.
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Stephen McGowan revealed that the Paradise majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond was the character behind the 34 year old keepers signing and he also seemed to suggest he was behind others, “Celtic’s Mister Big was full-on with the signing of players like Joe Hart.
“He oversaw the change of chief executive from Peter Lawwell to the modernising agenda of McKay.
“He conducted the meetings with Eddie Howe until the Englishman took cold feet.
“He gave the green light to the appointment of Postecoglou and persuaded Gordon Strachan to pitch up as a consultant and look at the club’s academy operations.
“Fans shelling out £600 for a season book are entitled to feel it’s the least he could do.
“Especially when his apparent determination to stand by Neil Lennon at all costs last November contributed to a disastrous tilt at ‘the ten’.
“Yet no-one really believes Desmond stepped in and grabbed the wheel because he wanted to. He did it because he had to.”
It is not the first time that Desmond has provided players to the first team on his say so with historic signings like the legendary Roy Keane and Robbie Keane being two of the most high profile examples.
And although Hart has been a welcome addition to the first team, many fans maybe concerned that the interfering with the first team affairs by the Celtic hierarchy could well cause friction between the manager and the suits.