Nick Hammond slammed by pundit; says Celtic shouldn’t trust him anymore

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Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond has been slammed by Kris Commons, who believes Celtic shouldn’t give him any more money to spend.

Celtic’s recruitment has come under the spotlight this season. Only David Turnbull has seriously managed to impress. Meanwhile, we all expected more from the likes of Diego Laxalt and Mohamed Elyounoussi, whilst Shane Duffy, Vasilis Barkas, and Albian Ajeti have all seriously struggled.

Unsurprisingly, this has led to the Hoops having a disastrous season. The club’s supporters aren’t happy with anyone in a position of authority of Parkhead, and Hammond is no different after being appointed in 2019 after a successful trial period.

Commons echoed that argument in today’s Scottish Daily Mail (25/01, The Verdict Supplement, back page). He’s stated that any overhaul at Celtic must go ahead without Hammond’s input.

“Was it Hammond who sanctioned a combined £10million outlay on Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti? Or a £2m loan fee – plus a hefty wage packet – for Shane Duffy? The £3.5m on Patryk Klimala is another case in point.

“Ultimately, Hammond is the man who must carry the can for this litany of signings. In terms of players being cast aside by clubs down south, there’s nothing wrong with exploring that particular market if you know what you’re looking for and have a good eye for a player. Collectively as a club, Celtic have lost their eye for a player.

“Given his track record, I wouldn’t trust Hammond to spend a penny of that money when it comes to rebuilding this squad.”

Nick Hammond hasn’t had a great year at Celtic, but are his signings as poor as this season suggests?

This is one I’m struggling with. If you had come to me a couple of months ago I would’ve agreed with this. I would’ve stated that the signings this season have generally been disastrous and a key reason for our decline.

However, I’m starting to think otherwise. I’m starting to believe that many of these signings aren’t as bad as they’ve been made to look this season.

For me, I genuinely think it more boils down to the manager failing to get the best out of them. Or failing to utilise many of them to their strengths. Why on earth were Moi Elyounoussi and Albian Ajeti so successful with Basel but can’t make a dent here?

Why was Shane Duffy known for being a commanding, no-nonsense centre-back down south but made to be a joke figure up in Scotland? The same goes for Barkas’ promising reputation in Greece?

Then you have the general decline of some players we know to be top class. The likes of Odsonne Edouard, Ryan Christie, and Callum McGregor have all failed to inspire this season. All under Lennon’s guidance.

You can’t blame Hammond for the fees either. He’s not the one negotiating the finances with other clubs. That subsequently falls on Peter Lawwell. But even so, don’t be surprised if Hammond is indeed one of the club’s summer scapegoats. Meanwhile, many of these signings can only really be judged under a more assured management team – or at leas the ones that will be staying.

In other news, a report states that there’s a four-club chase on for this Celtic star.