Spurs legend Steve Perryman believes Celtic are acquiring one of the smartest men in football – new head of recruitment Paul Tisdale.
Perryman, former director of football at Exeter City, interviewed Tisdale for the St James Park hotseat and worked alongside him for 12 years.
A self-employed football consultant since leaving Stevenage in 2022, the 51-year-old is set to become Celtic’s new head of recruitment after Mark Lawwell left the role in March.
And former England midfielder Perryman claims the Parkhead club have landed themselves an astute judge of a player.
“Paul is among the three best footballers I have ever met because of his intelligence,” he told Mail Sport.
“In football you meet people who have academic training and you think: ‘Yes, but they haven’t played.’
Steve Perryman, top left, with Paul Tisdale during his time at Exeter City
Tisdale cut a fashionable figure on the sideline in his coaching days
Perryman, left, in action with Tottenham Hotspur during a London derby against Chelsea.
‘So you see people with academic backgrounds looking at players and thinking, “They’re not thinkers, are they”?
‘The difficult part is striking the balance between the two, and “Tis” was, and is, a very, very well-educated football person.
“So, in terms of his judgment in situations like recruitment, selection, dealing with management and players, he’s excellent.
“His intelligence helped him get ahead, and his intelligence told me that ‘he could be the CEO of this club.’
‘He covered all the bases because he had great character and intelligence.
“He knows where he fits and he focuses on that.” “He can play a lot of different roles.”
Former Southampton player Tisdale is credited with discovering Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, and Perryman claims the England striker is just one of many talented young players to emerge during his time as Exeter manager.
He also believes Tisdale’s skills fit with the player exchange model of the Parkhead club, which sold Matt O’Riley to Brighton for £25m and signed Arne Engels to a record £11m deal.
“He signed well, even when we were dealing with the lower league market,” Perryman said.
“However, when you are at Exeter, and I think this probably applies to everyone now, you have to have a good eye and good judgment with young players.
“At Exeter, I was signing players from under-13s to first-team level and, if you had anything about you then, you could be in the first team at 17.
‘Like he did with Ollie Watkins, like he did with Matt Grimes, who is now captain of Swansea.
“He found Ethan Ampadu and put him on the team at the age of 15.
‘He just had great judgment. Trial in the boardroom, trial in a test match where you have 30 or 40 players and you only need three to make your squad.
‘Judgment in football is fundamental. And “Tis” has the brain to make the best of whatever job he is doing and simply do things right.
“He’s honest, honorable, nice and just does things right.”
