Celtic dipped into the transfer market this past week, to bring in full-back Lee Naylor and forward Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. The Scottish tabloids have been chattering for weeks about Celtic manager Gordon Strachan?s desperate search to fill both positions.

Naylor arrived from Wolves at a cost of ?600,000 with youngster Charlie Mulgrew heading in the opposite direction. Vennegoor of Hesselink was signed from PSV Eindhoven for a cost of around ?3.4M.

Some of Strachan?s previous forays into the transfer market have been slightly suspect. Defenders Mo Camara and Adam Virgo both recently left Parkhead having failed to make any kind of impact in their one year at the club. Eyebrows were raised when both were signed, but no one was surprised to see them both head back down to England.

These latest signings are certainly more established names within the game.

Naylor is a former England Under-21 international who had nine years of service at Wolves.

Vennegoor of Hesselink is an 8 times capped Dutch international with a proven goal scoring record in the Dutch league.

An ever-present in the Dutch Eredivisie for FC Twente from 1998 to 2001, he scored a total of 55 goals in 102 league games. His form was such that he made his debut for the Dutch national team against Portugal in 2000.

The national coach was not the only person to recognise his scoring abilities and in 2001 Vennegoor of Hesselink landed an 11 million Euro move to PSV where he bagged 22 goals in 34 league games in his first season.

In the 2004/05 season he scored 19 goals in 28 games for PSV, finishing the season as the club?s top scorer, in a campaign where they lifted both league and cup.

No player currently plying his trade in the Dutch Eredivisie has scored more goals in The Netherlands? top flight. He won three league titles and two Dutch Cups while playing at the Phillips Stadion.

He is an imposing player at 1.88m tall, providing a strong aerial threat. In the Ditch league he became known for his quick feet and solid positional sense that made him difficult to mark.

Celtic lost a physical presence in the penalty box this close season in John Hartson and Vennegoor of Hesselink should prove an able replacement. The Bhoys have had to shell out the cash though. Hartson, who could easily have done a job for Celtic for another season, left to go to West Bromwich Albion, with The Baggies paying ?500,000 his services. The big Dutchman cost ?3.4M with a further ?1M going straight into his back pocket.

At a point in his career where he looks like making a significant breakthrough in the national team, due to coach Marco van Basten?s perceived falling out with Ruud van Nistelrooy, it is perhaps surprising that he has opted to ply his trade in the Scottish Premier League. The 27-year-old insists that the move was not financially motivated.

He told The Scotsman newspaper, “This was not all about the money for me. If you know me a little bit, you will know that’s not my way. If it was about money, I could have gone to other clubs. There was a lot of money on offer from Dick Advocaat and Zenit St Petersburg and there was also interest from the English Premiership.

“For me, it is more important to have the right feeling about a club. I got that when I joined PSV five years ago.? He went on to choose his words poorly, ??I have already been infected by the Celtic virus in a good way. This move was already very concrete for me on Monday this week. The delay was just about little details, not about the big things. We agreed quickly about the big things.”
One of the biggest questions for the Scottish media and the Celtic faithful is what nickname Vennegoor of Hesselink should receive. In the late 1980s a pair of Polish imports found their names shortened to reduce their tongue twisting effects. Striker Darius Dziekanowski revelled in the nickname ?Jacki?, while his compatriot Dariusz Wdowczyk was bemused to find himself christened ?Shug?.

As for the latest signing, the man himself is adamant that his name should be used in full. He told The Scotsman,

?The name has been in the family for 200 years and I’m very proud of it. It’s not Vennegoor, it’s not Hesselink, it’s Vennegoor of Hesselink.”

Since the pundits up here have a difficult time pronouncing names such as Schevchenko and Prso it?s unlikely he will get his wish.

On his arrival at Parkhead 26-year-old Lee Naylor promised The Scotsman that he would be ?an exciting player who can get forward and put crosses into the box.”

In Wolves? 2003-2004 season Naylor was the only ever present player in their Premiership campaign.

He has found favour under four different managers in his time at Wolves, beginning with Mark McGhee, then Colin Lee, Dave Jones and Glenn Hoddle. Current manager Mick McCarthy was also an admirer and offered Naylor a testimonial in an attempt to keep him at Molineux.

Both new signings have experienced a dream start on their Celtic debuts.

Naylor did just as promised, providing a cross for Maciej Zurawski to score Celtic?s first goal in the 2-1 win against Hibs. Vennegoor of Hesselink came on as a substitute in the 52nd minute. Fourteen minutes later he had netted his first goal for The Bhoys.

Celtic?s fans are always ready and willing to except new heroes, but can be very unforgiving if players don?t deliver for them. Both players have got off to a good start, only time will tell if they can justify their transfer fees throughout the season.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 27th, 2006 at 9:52 am and is filed under Celtic. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.