Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has responded to a question regarding summer signing Liam Scales during a Q&A for The Athletic.

The Lowdown: Scales’ struggles

Scales was one of 12 summer arrivals at Parkhead, joining from Shamrock Rovers for £540,000, a club that Dermot Desmond has a 25% stake in.

Labelled as a ‘quick’ player, Scales has failed to force his way into Ange Postecoglou’s side this season so far, making just two appearances from the bench.

And it now appears as if there was another reason why he swapped Ireland for Scotland.

The Latest: Devlin’s response

Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic prior to a 3-1 win over Hibernian on Wednesday.

One fan asked Devlin if Scales was bought by Desmond purely to balance the books over at Shamrock Rovers.

This is what Devlin had to say in reply…

“That has been alleged by some quarters, yes.”

The Verdict: Worrying

The 23-year-old isn’t the only recent arrival who has struggled at Parkhead.

The likes of Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide are reportedly fighting for their futures in Glasgow, with the pair yet to make an appearance, so one would have to point first to poor recruitment rather than a corrupted decision by Desmond.

At least Scales has featured in some capacity, but if it is true that Desmond signed the youngster with one eye on Shamrock’s finances, it is an extremely worrying sign for his decision-making in Glasgow.

In other news: Lost the ball 48 times, 28 duels lost, 0 shots on goal: Celtic’s terrible trio despite Hibs win.