WHERE ARE THE 12 STARS ON THE CELTIC 'LEAKED' LIST NOW? INFAMOUS INVENTORY TURNS INTO MEGA MILLIONS FIVE YEARS ON

Neil Lennon is back in management after penning a deal to take over at Romanian top-flight club Rapid Bucharest.

The former Celtic and Hibs boss is back in the dugout for the first time since being sacked by Cypriot side AC Omonia in October 2022, despite leading them to glory in the domestic cup in the previous season. The Irishman is already been linked with a move for familiar names to fans of Scottish football, with Hoops centre back Stephen Welsh and Dundee United's Ross Graham both said to be on Lennon's wishlist.

And with the 52-year-old back in the spotlight, Record Sport has taken a look back at Lennon's 12-man shortlist of targets that was infamously leaked back in the summer of 2019 during his second stint as Parkhead gaffer. The club were left fuming and were forced to launch an internal investigation into just how the document was able to surface in the public domain.

But where are they now? We take a look at every one of the 12 players on the list five years on, and one or two names will certainly surprise you.

James Justin

The full back held discussions with Celtic before opting to join up with Leicester City, where he teamed up with current Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers in the summer of 2019. The ex-Luton Town man has been an ever present at the King Power Stadium ever since, helping the Foxes lift the FA Cup in 2021 and even won a senior cap for England a year later.

The 26-year-old has now helped Leicester win promotion back to the top-flight, playing in 39 of their 46 league matches as Enzo Maresca's side wrapped up the Championship title with a game to spare.

Reece James

Although he has been ravaged with injuries in recent seasons, Chelsea captain Reece James could be described as one that got away from Celtic back in 2019. At the time of his name appearing on the leaked file, James had yet to make a first team appearance at Stamford Bridge, and had just returned from a season-long loan at Wigan.

However, the talented wing-back soon forced his way into the first team picture at Chelsea, and within two years had picked up a winner's medal in the Champions League. James, who has turned out 16 times for his country, has not been included in the England squad for this summer's Euros despite returning to fitness in the last few weeks.

Tommy Smith

Celtic's need for defensive reinforcements where made glaringly obvious in the leaked document, with right back Tommy Smith also included on the shortlist. Back then the Englishman was plying his trade with Huddersfield Town, where he had climbed through the ranks from youth level to a regular in the first team.

Despite speculation that he could have headed north of the border to join Celtic, Smith opted to remain in England to join Stoke City. The 32-year-old made 106 appearances for the Potteries across the next three seasons before joining current club Middlesbrough back in the summer of 2022.

Mathias Jorgensen

Another defensive target named on Lennon's wishlist was Denmark international Mathias Jorgensen, who was then turning out for Huddersfield Town. However, Celtic decided not to step up their approaches to land the defender, and towards the end of the summer window he ended up joining Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Instead, the Hoops were successful in bringing in Frenchman Christopher Jullien, splashing the clash to sign the Toulouse centre back for a fee of £7million. Following loan stints with Fortuna Dusseldorf and FC Copenhagen, towering defender Jorgensen returned to England to the Premier League to join Brentford in 2021, where he has became a key man under countryman Thomas Frank.

Fikayo Tomori

Future England star Fiyako Tomori was also identified as a potential target by Celtic back in 2019, and is certainly a player who has gone onto achieve big things in that time frame. Despite his undoubted potential, Tomori was unable to become a mainstay in the Chelsea back line, sparking rumours that a switch to Celtic was on the cards. But 18 months later the centre back landed a loan move to AC Milan, and impressed the Serie A giants so much that they made the deal permanent the following summer.

Tomori then formed a key cog in the Milan side that ended their 11-year-long wait for the Scudetto in 2022. Despite his stellar displays on the continent, Tomori has been overlooked by Three Lions gaffer Southgate for the Euros this summer.

Romain Perraud

Celtic's search for a new left back also saw the then Nice defender Romain Perraud included amongst the leaked document. Sources in France had tipped the full back to join up with Lennon at Parkhead in 2019, but nothing came to fruition. Perraud did move on that summer, signing for fellow Ligue 1 outfit Brest, while Celtic sealed a deal to bring in Israeli international Hatem Abd Elhamed.

Perraud spent two seasons with Brest before earning a dream move to the Premier League with Southampton in 2021. However the 26-year-old has now fallen out of favour at St Mary's and spent the whole of last season back on loan at Nice.

Joe Aribo

I don't think we need to go into too much detail about this one. After three successful seasons with the Hoops' arch rivals Rangers, Aribo returned to England to join Southampton in July 2022.

Will be hoping to help the Saints make an immediate return to the Premier League when they face Leeds United in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.

Rekeem Harper

Five years ago, Record Sport revealed that former England youth international Rekeem Harper was wanted by Celtic, shortly before his name was spotted on the leaked shortlist. Boss Lennon had personally watched the midfielder in action, with rumours that the playmaker was looking for a way out with West Brom.

But Harper ending up resolving his issues over a new contract, and it was only two years later in 2021 that he did move onto pastures new by joining Ipswich Town. The 24-year-old now turns out for Burton Albion in the English third tier.

Scott McTominay

The most high profile name on the list at the time was Scott McTominay. At the time he looked for an exit at Manchester United that summer after being cast aside by Jose Mourinho.

Celtic would hold discussions with the Red Devils about taking the midfielder on loan, but the Scotland star quickly became a firm favourite under new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Brandon Barker

Again this is one we really don't need to dive into. Ironically, Lennon would eventually get one of his men, with ex Rangers and Hibs winger Barker teaming up with him at Omonia in 2022 and played a part in their Cyrpiot Cup triumph that secured European football in the following season.

The well travelled former England youth international is now set to be released by Morecambe, having penned a short term deal with the EFL League Two club back in January.

Neal Maupay

Celtic were also looking to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch that summer, and another notable player who was identified in the leaked file was French forward Neal Maupay. The Versailles-born striker had just enjoyed a fine season with Brentford, scoring 25 goals in the Championship to attract the interest of clubs all over Europe.

However, the price tag placed on Maupay by the Bees made any possible move to Celtic unlikely, with the Nice youth graduate winning a £20million move to Premier League side Brighton that August. After three years on the south-coast, Maupay - who is known for his colourful antics on the pitch - moved onto Everton three years later and returned to Brentford on a year-long loan last season, scoring eight goals in 31 matches.

Lys Mousset

French players were an reoccurring theme in Celtic's leaked transfer shortlist five years ago, with the then Bournemouth striker Lys Mousset also earmarked as a potential signing. The former France U21 international had bagged just five goals in 71 matches for the Cherries, but he did emerge as an option to boost Lennon's firepower at Celtic.

But it was Sheffield United who made a play to get their man, forking out £10million for his services that summer, However Mousset has continued to flatter to deceive, and is currently without a club after leaving Bochum earlier this year.

2024-05-22T07:41:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd