Peter Martin shares what he’s hearing about Celtic, which could involve Hearts’ Jamestown Analytics

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There is going to be immense pressure on the Celtic board when the transfer window re-opens in January.

Not only is there already pressure after what happened in the summer, but Celtic trailing leaders Hearts in the Premiership table, and the risk of getting eliminated from the Europa League means that something needs to be done.

Added to that, Celtic have a host of injuries, many long-term, so whoever is the manager, they will need some fresh legs heading into the second half of the campaign.

But according to Peter Martin, the under pressure powers that be could be heading down a new road.

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Celtic could be going down Hearts’ transfer recruitment route

In truth, there should be wholesale changes in the Celtic boardroom, but those stubborn men in suits clearly aren’t budging any time soon.

But according to Peter Martin on PLZ Soccer, he has been told that Celtic are going to go down Hearts’ transfer route.

There has been a lot of noise from Hearts this season, with Tony Bloom investing in the club and aiming to win the Premiership title via his famous Jamestown Analytics.

And Martin feels a ‘similar process’ could be brought in by the champions of Scotland.

“I am led to believe that they are looking at some kind of similar process to Tony Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics,” said Martin.

“I think they are looking at a process that is also available and deals with that recruitment process.

“But all of these things, if they are communicated to fans, I think, it would be better. I also think, every now and then, it would be good if they could get to an AGM and see Dermot Desmond there, and actually speak to him.”

How does Jamestown Analytics work?

Whether this system works in Scotland remains to be seen, but it can’t be argued that Hearts are backing up their noise so far.

Bloom did help Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise win their first league title in nearly 100 years last season, as well as helping Brighton and Hove Albion reach Europe for the first time in their history.

But how does it work?

“The way it works is that Jamestown have a massive database which has been built over the years and is continually updating itself, and it has an ability to tell us how players rate or how they would rate if they were playing in the Scottish Premiership,” shared Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay to BBC Sport.

“To give an example, we would have gone to Jamestown for this window, saying we’re looking for a centre-back. That gets fed to Jamestown, and they then come back with some options based on their analysis. That is pretty much the beginning and end of what they do.

“We then do our own diligence on those players – the character, whether they’ll fit into our squad, we’ll do some references. What analytics cannot do is give you a view on the personality of a player. It’s then for our team to do that and do negotiations.”