Irish Youngsters Profiled as Emerging Celtic Stars | OneFootball

Irish Youngsters Profiled as New Celtic Stars…

Although Celtic is a Scottish club, it has always had strong Irish roots. The club celebrates this heritage in many different manners, and the most obvious one is the club’s name. It represents the link between the Scottish and Irish cultures, while the crest also contains a four-leaf clover symbol.

Irish international stars Darren O’Dea and Aiden McGeady scored the goals in Celtic’s 2-0 League Cup Final win against Rangers in 2009.

On match days, Celtic flies the Irish flag to mark the club’s Irish heritage. Therefore, it is not strange that many Irish footballers have played for Celtic. The club’s academy features some hot Irish prospects that might become Celtic stars if they reach their projected potential and former Ireland international defender Darren O’Dea is one of the co-manager’s of the Celtic B team, tasked alongside Stehen McManus with producing the Celtic stars of the future.

Betting Sites in Ireland Tip Rocco Vata as the Next Star

Celtic’s B Team has many talented players, and 17-years old Rocco Vata is tipped as the rising star. If you share this opinion, check the odds at all betting sites in Ireland, and you can find detailed information on this page about them. Rocco is the son of the former Celtic player, Ruidi Vata. Celtic’s youth coach and Vata’s compatriot, Darren O’Dea, has been full of praise for Vata. He has been impressed by Rocco’s attitude to the game and mentality. Despite being very young, Rocco has a strong mind and a killer attitude.

Rocco Vata scored for Celtic in th pre-season friendly against Wiener Viktoria in Austria in July.

O’Dea is confident that Rocco Vata will get to the very top if he reaches his potential. Vata will have enough time to develop further in Celtic B since the midfield in the first team is pretty stacked. He will have enough time to adapt to Celtic’s playing style and be ready for the first team challenges in the future. The experience from playing in the Lowland League will definitely benefit his development.

Vata plays as an attacking midfielder or as a right winger, while the pace and dribbling are his strongest points. It is not rare that some of the first-team players in need of playing time participate for Celtic B, and that is another great opportunity for Rocco to get a senior-football experience playing beside older teammates.

Many expert websites see Rocco among 40 hot prospects in the world, born in 2005. The Irish national team also hopes that Vata will contribute a lot to future successes. He has already been a part of U-15 and U-17 teams, along with a couple of very talented Irish players that should be the main players in the national team in the future.

Bosun Lawal is a Real Find

The former Watford player is projected for a very bright future at Parkhead. This 19-year old centre-back has already deserved special praise from former Celtic B team manager Tommy McIntyre. Lawal’s excellent displays for Celtic B secured him a ticket for the first team. Of course, there is still a long way for him to become an established member of the Celtic’s best squad, but Bosun has already got a decent amount of playing time.

Bosun Lawal Celtic Glasgow and Christoph Knasmuellner SK Rapid Wien during the International Football Friendly match as a preparation for the upcoming match between SK Rapid Wien and Celtic Glasgow at the Allianz Stadion in Vienna, Austria on 2022 07 09 Expa Wien

Despite moving to the Celtic B team, Lawal kept his first-class attitude, which should help him reach his projected potential. Currently, Lawal should focus on putting the best possible performances for Celtic B in the Lowland League, and that should be the right track for him to enter the first team permanently. His playing style should suit the Celtic first team due to his ball-playing and defensive abilities.

Before joining Celtic, Lawal rejected offers from Norwich and Chelsea. It should turn out to be the right decision since this youngster is highly rated at Parkhead. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised to see him feature on the big stage pretty soon. This season, Bosun has made eight appearances in the Lowland League so far, being involved in the starting lineup seven times. He has also had a great conversion rate, scoring three goals and setting up an assist during the current campaign.

Can Johnny Kenny follow in Kyogo’s footsteps?

Celtic also has very talented forwards, and perhaps Johnny Kenny is the hottest prospect of all. After making his first professional steps in Sligo Rovers, Kenny joined Celtic in January 2022 and signed a five-year contract. This talented forward has already had a great senior season in professional football. During the 2021 campaign in the Irish Premier Division, Kenny made 32 appearances and scored 11 goals for Sligo Rovers.

Johnny Kenny scores his first goal for Celtin in the pre-season match against Wiener Viktoria in July.

That was more than enough for Celtic to start its hunt for Johnny’s signature. He started the 2022/23 season in the Lowland League playing for the Celtic B team and got his name on the team sheet four times. Nevertheless, Kenny deserves to play on a bigger stage, and therefore he secured a loan deal to the Championship side Queen’s Park, where he has also made four apps so far.

Johnny Kenny had an indispensable experience of being a part of the first-team squad during the pre-season. He stated that he learned a lot from Kyogo Furunashi. Kenny had an opportunity to taste the pitch in a friendly match against the Austrian side, Wiener Viktoria. Johnny managed to score a brace, and he was inches away from the hat-trick, but the woodwork prevented him from accomplishing that.

Conclusion

Celtic continues to preserve strong relationships with Ireland and cherish the club’s proud  Irish heritage. Many Irish footballers have written the history of this world famous football club, and new generations will certainly continue doing that. These three players might become the next Celtic stars if they continue their development in a positive direction. If they keep learning and working hard, the sky is the limit for these young Irish footballers.