Celtic chief Nick Hammond was reportedly at Easter Road on Wednesday as Neil Lennon’s Hoops eye Hibernian star Martin Boyle.
There is more to Martin Boyle’s game than pace.
But as Premier League full-backs who have witnessed Adama Traore in full flow will tell you, the prospect of pitting their wits against a winger who combines electric speed with a ruthless end product is enough to give anyone sleepless nights.
And, in Hibernian’s jet-heeled talisman, Celtic appear to have set their sights on one of the few elite talents in Scotland’s top flight currently plying their trade outside of Ibrox or Parkhead.
The Daily Record claims that recruitment chief Nick Hammond was in the stands on Wednesday as Hibs came from behind to beat Hamilton Academical with the Australia international in his sights. And Boyle certainly aced his audition, setting up both of the hosts goals in a come-from-behind victory at Easter Road.
It was his trademark darting run which paved the way for Hibs’ equaliser and, with just minutes remaining, Boyle created the winner with a burst of acceleration and a sublime cross which made Paul Hanlon’s finish an inevitability.
With six goals and six assists in all competitions, the Aberdeen-born winger has already exceeded his tally from the entirety of last season and, as Boyle tore the Accies flank apart again and again, it was impossible not to think back to Peter Houston’s gushing praise in September 2018.
“He’s one of the quickest players in Scotland,” Houston, a coach for the Scottish national team, told the BBC.
“Anybody who has electric pace like he does, gets in behind defences, he’s always going to create and score goals.”
With Scott Sinclair gone and Lewis Morgan going, there is room for one more winger at Celtic. And who better than ‘one of the quickest players in Scotland’?
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