Celtic could rip up transfer plan after ‘controversial’ deal agreed – Keith Wyness
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed new Celtic transfer chief Paul Tisdale could be a “controversial” appointment.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Aberdeen between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested the hire could mean the Hoops’ tried and tested policy of scouting and signing young overseas talent is abandoned.
Last week (16 October), Celtic announced the appointment of Tisdale as the club’s new Head of Football Operations.
The statement said he will oversee “the identification and development of talent, in line with the club’s objective to develop Champions League players through our Academy and recruitment processes”.
Tisdale had a 12-year stint as manager of Exeter City in England and famously operated without a scouting network for the majority of that time.
The 51-year-old refers to himself as a “football doctor” and will now work alongside Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead.
Tisdale’s Celtic appointment could be ‘controversial’, says Wyness
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “It’s a weird one.
“Paul has been controversial in the way he has assessed things.
“When he was at Exeter, he did away with scouts – didn’t believe in scouting.
“He did it all from data or personal recommendations – and I don’t know how that could work at Celtic.
“Their whole business model has been to scout overseas young talent and bring them in.
“That has been successful for many years.
“What he will do differently at Celtic, I don’t know. But he’s clearly interviewed well, we’ve just got to watch these question marks and see how he operates.
“It could be quite controversial. Maybe he’s got the secret formula, maybe he hasn’t.
“Exeter and Celtic are completely different situations. I’ll be watching him very closely.”
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