Importance of this transfer window for Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson

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The Celtic Star

·14. Juni 2025

Importance of this transfer window for Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson

When it comes to the Celtic support every transfer window is a big one, but for Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson this transfer window sees the focus shift to Celtic’s low-profile front of house, and he’s certainly going to be under scrutiny…

Michael Nicholson at Celtic Park. Sunday 18 May 2025. Celtic v FC Women v Motherwell. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

In Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the club, the CEO role was the blink, and you’ll miss him Dom McKay, who left the role after just two months, apparently for personal reasons.

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McKay left his position as Scottish Rugby’s chief operating officer to replace Peter Lawwell, who retired after 17 years in the role, at the beginning of July 2021. At the time Nicholson was Director of legal and football affairs and with McKay’s unexpected jump –or was he pushed – Nicholson initially stepped up as interim CEO, before picking up the gig on a full-time basis.

Ange Postecoglou and Dominic McKay Unveiling – Celtic Park Celtic new manager Ange Postecoglou poses for a photo at Celtic Park Glasgow. Picture date: Friday June 25, 2021. Photo: Jeff Holmes

Dom McKay was a man who could get deals done – and he had to, as Celtic post the covid season, were down to the bare bones and very much in need of a total squad rebuild – but perhaps how they were done wasn’t to everyone at Celtic’s liking.

Nor perhaps were his plans for Celtic to engage more with the support – for example bringing the fan media into the press conferences was his initiative – or his grand plans to revamp Celtic’s recruitment, as he name-checked the likes of Brentford as a good benchmark for Celtic’s recruitment and youth development plans.

Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive of Celtic FC looks on from the stands prior to the Premiership match between Celtic FC and St Mirren FC at Celtic Park on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Since Dom McKay left Michael Nicholson has adopted a more shall we say stand offish approach to Celtic’s business, but last summer’s transfer window was something of a frustrating one, and keeping a low profile won’t stop criticism, both externally and internally.

It’s difficult to blame a CEO for the standard of player Celtic sign in any given transfer window. That falls on the recruitment team headed up by Celtic Head of Scouting, Jay Lefevre and now Paul Tisdale, but previously Mark Lawwell as Head of Football Operations at Celtic.

Paul Tisdale the manager of Bristol Rovers looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match between Bristol Rovers and Darlington FC at the Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2020 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

However, getting the deals done and in a timely manner is something the Celtic CEO must bear responsibility for and after last season’s summer and January transfer window, it’s that key responsibility that will see Michael Nicholson under scrutiny this summer from the Celtic support, and you would expect the Celtic board to boot.

Celtic v St Mirren – Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson in the stands during the cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park, Wednesday November 1, 2023. Photo Andrew Milligan

Last summer most of Celtic’s transfer business was concluded very late in the window. It’s a time well run football operations avoid, as the tail end of the window is very much for clubs who are either desperate, or in a position where their transfer strategy hasn’t worked out. It might be fine for loan deals, but for permanent transfers it is not a time to source value.

There may be a school of thought at Celtic that late in the day deals may open up the opportunity for a bargain. In reality fees are instead bumped up. After all if you are telling the buyer despite having three months to prepare for player purchases, you are in the last chance saloon and the selling club acts accordingly, something we saw with the signing of Adam Idah last season, when Celtic ended up paying around £9m for a backup striker for Kyogo.

Celtic striker Adam Idah Photo: Jane Barlow

Late deals were also done for Auston Trusty (£6m) and Arne Engels (£11m), meanwhile Paulo Bernardo, a player, like Idah who had been on loan at Celtic the season before, also took until very late in the window before signing on the dotted line. This despite an option to buy having previously been negotiated with parent club Benfica.

Arne Engels. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The importance of deals being done early is straightforward. It gives assurance to a support who believe the club has a clear strategy they are adhering to, and it also means the manager can have a full pre-season to work with most of his squad.

We very much saw the advantage of a pre-season to Nicolas Kühn for example, who after a tough six months at Celtic the season prior, emerged from pre-season physically, technically and tactically up to speed.

We may indeed see improvement from the likes of Trusty, Idah and Engels after a full pre-season this time around, as we may also from Bernardo, who despite being at Celtic for two full seasons hasn’t had the benefit of a full pre-season under Brendan Rodgers in either of his two seasons with the club – quite remarkable really.

Paulo Bernardo celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 0-2 lead. St Johnstone v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Football, McDiarmid Park, Perth Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Now all eyes will be on Michael Nicholson ahead of this transfer window opening. If we see deals done early and with good value attached, then we’ll know the alignment between the recruitment team and the deal makers is clear.

If, as with last season, we can see Celtic are targeting the right players, but deals are left so late that they cause Celtic to pay significantly more than is necessary, or miss out entirely, then the focus will shift to those negotiating those deals.

This is a big transfer window for Michael Nicholson; indeed I’d go as far as to say his reputation as Celtic’s CEO is on the line.

There are certainly deals to be concluded at the end of a transfer windows, after all the loan market is something we as a club could be utilising more, much like dare I say Dom McKay managed with the loan to buy deals with Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers, but those deals should be the supplements, the icing on the proverbial cake, after the strategically planned for business has already been completed early in the window.

Peter Lawwell, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Nicholson (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

What we need to see from Michael Nicholson is that he has the art of the deal in his business make-up, because for now the jury may well be out. However, if there is a repeat of last summer’s unnecessary delays you can be sure it won’t just be the Celtic support asking questions. When delays cost money, a PLC must have answers to why.

If Michael Nicholson has a different playbook to Dom Mckay, that’s fine. If he wants to be less visible, less communicative, I’m fine with that also, if we see results.

If we don’t, Nicholson starts to look out of his depth in a key area of his expected expertise. And we’ll have the answers to those concerns not at the end of the transfer window but when Celtic head to Lake Como for their main pre-season schedule. If the bulk of Celtic’s transfer work is done by then, we’ll know Michael Nicholson has found his groove, if we don’t, I’d expect to see the needle jump –or be pushed – from the record. It’s just too important an area of club business for any further time spent learning on the job.

Niall J

Celtic in the Thirties, Volumes One & Two by Matt Corr – out now on Celtic Star Books.