Celtic head of recruitment Lee Congerton has left the club and will reunite with former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers at Leicester, it has been confirmed.
Rodgers – who left Glasgow for Leicester in February – appointed Congerton at Celtic in March 2017, and the pair had success in their first season together with the signings of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair.
Celtic announced in a statement on Twitter, however, that Congerton is to leave, before Leicester announced shortly after that they have appointed him at the club.
Lee Congerton leaves Celtic https://t.co/TeRYrU6AWz
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 11, 2019
#lcfc is delighted to confirm the appointment of Lee Congerton as Head of Senior Recruitment.
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 11, 2019
“Everyone at Celtic would like to thank Lee for his contribution to the club and we wish him the very best for the future,” Celtic’s statement read.
“The existing staff within Celtic’s scouting and recruitment department will continue to work closely with club management on the identification of players who can benefit the club.
“The club has already commenced the process to appoint a new head of recruitment, something which will be completed as soon as possible.”
OPINION
This is bad news for Celtic on the eve of the summer transfer window. According to the Daily Record, Congerton and interim Hoops boss Neil Lennon had been working closely in recent weeks and had been devising a list of targets for the summer, but this is now a major step backwards for the Glasgow side. Congerton was a massive influence in Celtic acquiring Dembele and Sinclair, who have both lit up the Scottish Premiership – and the Celtic team itself. As the statement reads, Celtic are working to appoint a new head of recruitment as soon as possible and this has to be high on their list of priorities. Although Rangers have been on and off in their pursuit of their city rivals this season, you wouldn’t bet against Steven Gerrard further improving his squad this term. If Celtic want to make it nine league titles in a row next season, a new head of recruitment could help them achieve it.