Celtic’s Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond reportedly took in Partick Thistle vs Dundee United, as he watched Lawrence Shankland fire in another hat-trick.
The Scottish Sun believes that Hammond was there watching the United front-man once again, as he bagged a perfect hat-trick at Firhill. The goals helped Robbie Neilson’s side to a 4-1 win that puts them 17 points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship.
It also comes after Tosh McKinlay initially went to watch Shankland back in September for Celtic (Daily Record). In that match against Morton, he also bagged a hat-trick.
So far this season, Shankland has managed an incredible 24 goals in 24 games (Transfermarkt). But what makes this visit from Hammond more intriguing is that it comes only weeks after United issued a hands-off warning on their front-man.
Indeed, it comes a couple of months after United’s Sporting Director Tony Asghar effectively confirmed his club wouldn’t be selling in January (The Scotsman).
Asghar warning doesn’t seem to have put Celtic off
It’s important to acknowledge that nobody has confirmed the reasons for Hammond being at Firhill yesterday. It’s still plausible that he was there for some other reason. But this is also the Head of Football Operations we’re talking about. In other words, he leads the recruitment, and it seems unlikely he wasn’t there to have another look at Shankland.
And if that’s the case, it appears that Celtic haven’t been put off by Asghar’s warning. Of course, Robbie Neilson in a way contradicted his Sporting Director just a couple of weeks ago.
Whilst Asghar was keen to say no amount of money could buy Shankland, Neilson stated in the Evening Telegraph that every player has a price. He simply believes that United won’t get the money they want for the striker.
There’s yet to be an official fee revealed by United regarding Shankland’s price. However, Celtic should also be wary of the fact that he remains untested in the Premiership.
The likes of Martyn Waghorn and Nicky Clark have proven to be top goalscorers in that division. Yet, when it comes to Premiership football, both men faltered with Rangers. Shankland still has that same question to answer regarding the step-up.
In any case, Celtic look to still be in the hunt for Shankland as our search for a January striker continues.
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