Former Celtic captain Gary Caldwell has heaped praise on Celtic Director of Football candidate Fergal Harkin. The Irishman is one of the leading candidates to head up the new look football operations department and Caldwell told Clyde 1 SSB that he thinks Harkin could be an incredible success.
The club are reportedly considering a restructure of the footballing department as the Parkhead club look to build back from this disappointing season. Many feel that a modern, European approach is desirable this summer with McKay overseeing the implementation of a new strategy to take the club forward. Harkin is probably the standout candidate and Caldwell believes he would be a great fit at Celtic Park.
“Fergal is someone I know well and Fergal would be a great sporting director.
“He’s somebody that’s worked at Man City for a long time. He’s worked in recruitment, he’s worked as a loans manager, and he’s somebody that understands football, the kind of modern-day football in terms of business. Obviously, Man City is a global brand like Celtic is.
“So he is somebody I know well from living near him down in England and he’s the type of person that you need for that type of role.
“He’s been there as that club has grown a huge amount. As he was there they have acquired different clubs all over the world.
“He’s been in that process of building those relationships with different clubs, how the playing philosophy then transfers to different clubs, so he’s very good at understanding that process.”
Harkin is the Football Partnerships Manager at City and is highly rated for his shrewd transfer network. City and Celtic have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years and Harkin is believed to be a Celtic supporter.
Harkin has helped find and provide professional development pathways to a number of young players. He is potentially the most attractive candidate given the amount of influence he has with the Etihad club. The links that City have across the world are phenomenal and Harkin has helped cultivate that.
