Celtic Academy and a first team pathway that can deliver future stars | OneFootball

It’s been a long time since we had a youth player make their mark on the Celtic first team. That’s something that frustrates many supporters alongside what appears to be the best of the Academy stars leaving Celtic rather than signing contracts to become members of the Celtic first team squad…

Ben Doak and Greg Taylor of Celtic celebriate victory after the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at on February 02, 2022. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Few of these players seem to make too much of an impact when they take themselves away from the club but of course we wish them well and it’s their careers so they have the right to make the choices that are right for them, if that’s about playing time, finance of simply the ambition to play in a different country where they feel that they can break into the top level.

Daniel Kelly of Celtic during the cinch Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle on 3 March 2024. Photo IMAGO

Congratulations to Sean McArdle and his family – such a proud day for them

The remaining fixtures of this campaign seems the perfect opportunity to blood a couple of youngsters in the squad and give them some much needed first team experience such as young Sean McArdle who was an unused substitute at Ibrox last weekend, was handed his first team debut after coming on as a substitute in Saturdays 3-1 home win over Hibs.

Dane Murray is injured and had some minor surgery on his knee so misses his chance to feature in these last few games. In the recent Glasgow Derby match at Celtic Park, Murray would have played ahead of Maik Nawrocki, but that’s when the problem started. What this does show is that Brendan Rodgers rates his highly and he can expect to play next season.

Jamie Gullan of Raith Rovers controls the ball whilst under pressure from Dane Murray of Celtic during the Scottish Cup match between Celtic FC and Raith Rovers FC at Celtic Park on February 08, 2025.(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The raw talent is already at the Celtic Academy

The likes of McArdle, Francis Turley, Mitchel Frame and Kyle Ure could benefit from some much needed game time in the first team, but the question is will it be of any benefit to them going forward?

Francis Turley of Celtic FC controls the ball during the UEFA Youth League 2024/25 match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge at The City Stadium on November 27, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Unfortunately that answer would be no as they or any other youngster at the club for that matter don’t look like making the leap to regular first team football at this moment in time.

Academy graduates Callum McGregor and James Forrest are now in their thirties with 50 medals won between them in glittering Celtic careers

Although our skipper Callum McGregor, and the recently crowned most decorated Celt of all time James Forrest and the returning Kieran Tierney for that matter have all made impacts at first team level it’s been some time since we had a young player make the breakthrough and become a first team regular.

Rocco Vata of Celtic celebrates after he scores his team’s fifth goal during the the Celtic v Buckie Thistle – Scottish Cup match at Celtic Park on January 21, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The green, green grass of home

Although the likes of Ben Doak, Rocco Vata, and Daniel Kelly looked to have stood a chance until they were enticed down south with bigger riches or promises on offer.

The fact of the matter is that if we had a youngster good enough to compete in the first team they would have been part of the squad on a regular basis and not getting to play a bit part when the destination of the title is done and dusted.

It’s a great experience for young guys such as Sean McArdle to live the dream as it were, but it’s something we would like to see them do on a much more consistent basis.

It’s been a long time since we witnessed a youth player make an impact on the first team, it would be nice if that were to change some time soon.

Brendan unimpressed by what he saw at recent Glasgow Cup Final

Brendan attended the recent Glasgow Cup final and was unimpressed with the quality on show. Anyone watching on Celtic TV would have agreed with the manager’s assessment and would have reached the conclusion that no-one in the Celtic B team merited an immediate first team call up on that showing – and we were the better team on the night.

Here’s what was said about this at Brendan’s media conference on Friday afternoon…

Q: You were at the Glasgow Cup final last week. Are there youths coming through who can emulate guys like Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Tony Ralston, Kieran Tierney and all that stuff? Are the next ones coming through, do you feel?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, it’s going to be a little bit of time. That’s the honest answer to that. The level of the Glasgow Cup final wasn’t a great game. That’s my view of the game. Obviously, the pitch wasn’t in the best condition at the back end of the season so the speed and the level of the game wasn’t of the highest quality.

“There’s some talented players here but it’s going to take them time and work and development in order to get the opportunity. If you look through my career, I’ve always played young players. I’ve played players as young as 16 years of age but it’s not meant to be easy. You don’t just give players, they have to earn it and they have to deserve it and they have to be warranted that opportunity through hard work and quality.”

Q: Is it important not to just give them games to try and keep them at the club? It’s got to be earned?

Brendan Rodgers: “It’s a catch-22 really. I just try and simplify it. I’ve always throughout my career, I’ve judged a young player like any other player in terms of their age. I’m not so much worried about what age he is – does he have the talent or does he have the personality to have that wee bit of mental toughness to put him into the arena?

“If they have that, they’ll get opportunities and then can they sustain that. But a young player’s development might well be that he needs to get out and get into the men’s game and the rough and tumble of it and then come back and be better for it.

“I see a great example of young Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who I had at Leicester. He scored for Chelsea last night. Kiernan was a young player who’d come through the academy, hadn’t played in the first team. He was a talented player but really didn’t have any opportunities. But I’d seen something in him. I gave him his debut in the FA Cup against Brentford away from home and then sent him out on loan the next day as part of the plan for him to get minutes and grow as a young player. He had six months at Blackpool, then he went a year to Luton, done very well. When he came back he was ready and then it was just about timing. And then when he got in the team, away to Southampton, he never came out of the team and progressed really well. So it’s about timing, it’s about each individual player, what their needs are.

“Ryan Christie was the same here when he was here. I sent him to Aberdeen, had a great spell there, really developed under Derek when he was there. Then he came back here ready and then it was just about timing. Then he got that opportunity in the semi-final at Murrayfield. So for young players, there’s always a pathway here.”

Q: You’ve mentioned Dane Murray a couple of times, will we see him?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, he’s injured. Sadly for him, he’s just had a wee clean-up of his knee. Dane’s one I really, really like. He’s got a lot of attributes. He’s got good pace, he’s strong, he’s brave, he’s competitive and he can play. So sadly for him, it’ll be pre-season with him and then again it’ll be the decision of is he around to play or do we need to get him games?”

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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