Christopher Jullien, Boli Mbombo and Luca Connell have signed for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic with Youssouf Mulumbu and Marvin Compper gone.
Blamed by West Bromwich Albion fans for their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, Nicky Hammond had a point to prove when he was named Celtic’s new director of football last month.
But, after just a few weeks at Parkhead, you would struggle to find any Celtic fan willing to speak badly of their new recruitment chief.
Not only has Hammond reinforced a few problem positions with some potentially inspired signings, Boli Mbombo replacing Emilio Izaguirre, Christopher Jullien coming in for Dedryck Boyata, he also ensured Celtic beat a host of Premier League clubs to Irish wonder-kid Luca Connell.
Yet it is not just the incoming Hammond deserves credit for. He has also succeeded in trimming Celtic’s squad, reversing the mistakes made by his much-maligned predecessor Lee Congerton.
Youssouf Mulumbu made just one Scottish Premiership appearance for The Hoops after joining from Kilmarnock on Congerton’s watch. Hammond didn’t wait around to ensure Mulumbu wouldn’t be draining any more money from Celtic’s coffers, however, activating the break clause in the midfielder’s contract.
He even managed to get Marvin Compper off the books.
At £1 million, and with one appearance against Morton in the Scottish Cup to his name, the veteran defender was arguably Congerton’s most disastrous deal – one that will come to define him at Celtic.
After trying and failing to get him off the books for much of the last 12 months, Compper has finally departed for German second tier side MSV Duisberg.
Hammond’s era at Celtic is shaping up to be a ruthless one. And, with so many ill-fitting players in the squad and gaps needing to be filled, that is exactly what they needed.
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