Former Celtic Recruiter Mark Lawwell Joins Chelsea Ahead of January Window

Celtic recruitment chief joins Chelsea

The former Celtic recruitment chief has taken up a senior scouting position at Chelsea, joining the Premier League club’sfirst-team scouting and talent identification department.

Mark Lawwell, 42, who departed Celtic in July 2024, has already begun his new role at Stamford Bridge. According tothe Scottish Sun, he will help identify potential signings for manager Xabi Alonso ahead of the January transfer window.

Lawwell’s most notable contribution during his time at Celtic was helping bring Ange Postecoglou to the club in thesummer of 2022.

With Eddie Howe taking time to make a final decision, Lawwell directed Celtic towards Postecoglou, having previouslyworked alongside the Australian at Yokohama F. Marinos during his time with the City Football Group.

The appointment also had a connection to his father, Peter Lawwell, who helped set the process in motion during his finaldays as Celtic chief executive.

Mark had been impressed by Postecoglou’s work in Japan and played a role in paving the way for what became a hugelysuccessful period at Parkhead. The manager’s arrival sparked a major transformation, with Celtic subsequently recruitingseveral influential Japanese players, including Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

Postecoglou guided the Hoops to the Scottish Premiership title, completing their tenth league triumph in 11 seasons after adifficult previous campaign.

Lawwell’s Celtic recruitment record

Postecoglou was not the only important name identified during Lawwell’s spell in Glasgow. His recruitment work alsoincluded Alistair Johnston, Filipe Jota, Yang Hyun-jun, Alexandro Bernabei, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki andPaulo Bernardo.

Another player linked to his recruitment work was South Korean striker Oh Hyeon-gyu, who is now preparing to come upagainst Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side when Besiktas visit Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday.

One of Lawwell’s final contributions was the signing of Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna in January 2024. Celtic paidaround £3million for the German winger, who went on to become a key attacking figure before moving to Como for£17.2million 18 months later.

Celtic still searching for a football operations chief

Lawwell’s return to football comes at a time when Celtic are without a Head of Football Operations.

Paul Tisdale was dismissed in the aftermath of Wilfried Nancy’s departure on January 5. Nancy’s brief spell ended following six defeats in eight matches across a 33-day period.

Tisdale had been responsible for identifying the Columbus Crew manager as a potential long-term replacement for Brendan Rodgers, but the appointment failed to deliver the intended results.

While Lawwell prepares for a new challenge at Chelsea, Celtic are left facing questions over their recruitment structure and who will take responsibility for shaping the club’s future transfer strategy.