The summer transfer window is in full swing and we have already seen a few arrivals and departures. That has included the return of two familiar faces to Celtic. Kieran Tierney has been brought back as a free agent after spending the last six years at Arsenal. He returns to his boyhood club in his prime, albeit with serious question marks over his fitness. Also, Ross Doohan has arrived to replace Scott Bain as the third goalkeeper.
Actually, make that three returns. While the third one is not on the pitch or in the coaching dugout, another club hero has been brought back this summer.
Darren O'Dea left recently to take up a coaching job at Swansea City. We can only wish him the best in that journey and hope it goes well. On the other hand, Celtic have gone out and found a replacement for him already. One with even more history with the Hoops.
As reported by the club's official website, Shaun Maloney has been appointed as Celtic's new Professional Player Pathway Manager. His job will be to ensure the effective development of players.
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Maloney came through the youth ranks at Celtic himself. Then he went on to have two separate spells in the senior team, making over 200 appearances for the Hoops. He was part of a league-winning team on five occasions.
Now, Celtic are hoping that he will help other players do the same. This has been a problem area for the club for some time now.
Maloney's decision to leave coaching and take up this sort of role is an interesting one to say the least. He had actually been decent in his previous stint at Wigan Athletic. Does he view this as his long-term future or just a short-term thing?