The rumours surrounding a potential Celtic move for Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland were given new life this weekend.
It was reported by The Scottish Sun that Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond was in attendance to watch the player score a hat-trick against Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle.
It’s not the first time that the Bhoys have been linked with a transfer for the prolific forward.
There was also a report from The Daily Record back in September that suggested both the Scottish champions and Rangers were monitoring the progress of the player.
There’s no doubt that Shankland is having an impressive season, netting 24 goals in 24 appearances for the Tannadice outfit since his move from Ayr United.
However, there’s a much simpler explanation for Hammond’s reported attendance.
Checking out Partick Thistle
With Celtic manager Neil Lennon and his coaching staff in Dubai with the squad for the club’s winter break, there would have been nobody senior available to have a look at Partick Thistle ahead of next weekend’s Scottish Cup clash.
Ian McCall’s team may be having a dreadful campaign, currently threatened by relegation to League One, but we still have to do our homework and prepare for the occasion at Firhill.
Knockout fixtures are never easy and it’s not as if we haven’t been caught out by lower league opposition in cup competitions before, including under Lennon.
The likelihood is that Hammond was simply there to produce a report for Lennon and the squad to consider at Lennoxtown this week.
It’s true we played them in the League Cup earlier this season, but it’s prudent for the Hoops to make sure there is nothing surprising in store.
That may not be as attractive a reported reason as checking out Shankland but probably the most likely. Although, the striker likely hasn’t done his chances of impressive Hammond and Celtic any harm at all.
Hopefully any work do for the Partick Thistle fixture pays off with progression to the next round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
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