Celtic appoint talent scout who spotted Real Madrid star

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | Last updated 5/9/24

Celtic have appointed Mark Cooper to a full-time scouting role at the club. The talent scout has previously worked at the club but has taken on a role within Lennoxtown that will help to bolster the first team in the coming transfer window.

According to the Daily Mail, Cooper has been given a full-time role as the club continues to restructure behind the scenes as they look to modernise the scouting department.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is said to rate Cooper highly and they will, no doubt, also look to use his connections in America to bring in a new pool of talent for years to come. There have been a number of players that have gone onto big things that Cooper has mentioned on his Twitter feed; however, it is worth mentioning that back in 2015, Cooper brought the attention of his followers to a classy midfielder, who was in Peñarol’s U16 team, called Federico Valverde.

Valverde of Peñarol U16 is like McStay

— markocooper (@markocooper) August 22, 2015

Valverde, who last night helped Madrid to yet another UEFA Champions League Final, would depart Peñarol the following year for Real Madrid B and continue his progression in the Spanish Capital. If Cooper can identify players, the club need to act swiftly and bring them in with a designed pathway towards the first team. This ties in with the news that Darren O’Dea would take up a pathways role at the club.

The club are striving to replace Mark Lawwell, who left his position at the beginning of March. Lawwell Jnr joined from City Football Group and it was hoped that he would bring the nouse of the transfer market to push Celtic into the next bracket of £5m+ to help compete in Europe; however, regrettably, it has not worked out. It is believed that the talent spotter left to pursue other opportunities in the game. Lawwell’s No.2 Joe Dudgeon, Lead First Team Scout, has also departed the Scottish Champions at the same time.

This article first appeared on The Celtic Star and was syndicated with permission.

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