Celtic’s reported interest in Efraín Juárez as a possible assistant to Martin O’Neill is one of the more interesting reports doing the rounds.
At first glance, it makes sense. Juárez knows the club, knows the crowd, and knows what Celtic Park feels like when the place is properly up. He is also not just an old player being mentioned because he once wore the shirt. Since leaving the game, he has built his own coaching career and worked in different football worlds.
But there could be another angle to it.
Mark Cooper is now part of Celtic’s recruitment setup after coming back to the club during the scouting changes that followed the departures of Mark Lawwell and Joe Dudgeon. Cooper is best known for his knowledge of South American football, along with experience around the MLS market.
That is where the Juárez link becomes a bit more interesting.
Juárez has not taken the usual road into coaching. He worked in MLS, spent time in Europe, then managed in Colombia and Mexico. That is not the standard CV you normally see attached to a Celtic assistant.
If Celtic are looking seriously at him as part of O’Neill’s staff, it would not be a shock if someone with Cooper’s background helped put that name back on the table.
That does not mean Cooper is definitely behind it. There is no confirmation of that. But his area of expertise and Juárez’s route through the game do cross over in places Celtic may now be paying closer attention to.
For O’Neill, the assistant role is no small decision. He brings the authority and the Celtic knowledge. Nobody is doubting that. But he will also need people beside him who are close to the modern game and comfortable working on the training ground every day.
Juárez could fit that type of role. He has the Celtic link, but he also has recent coaching experience away from Scotland. That mix is probably why the rumour has caught the eye.
There are also questions over the futures of Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, which makes the Juárez link even more interesting. If Celtic are looking at fresh coaching options around O’Neill, it may point to the club keeping one eye on how the wider backroom team could take shape.
If Cooper has played any part in pointing Celtic towards Juárez, it would suggest the club are trying to widen their thinking.
But Juárez beside O’Neill would not feel random. It would feel like Celtic looking somewhere different.
