Celtic are set to send two of the B team’s brightest prospects out on a loan to Europe, having struck up an ongoing partnership with Austrian side Admira Wacker.
The Bhoys are said to have forged a mutually beneficial connection to the second-tier side earlier in the year as they seek promotion back to the top flight. Now it’s already bearing fruit.
The Daily Record [24/06 blog, 16:32] reports that young defender Matthew Anderson and goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi are set to finalise season-long loans and head off for a year of education on the continent. The pair are said to have travelled yesterday and things could be confirmed shortly.
Both players have featured heavily for the Celtic B side over the last couple of years but clearly it has been determined that they have outgrown the Scottish Lowland Football League.
A move to Austria is far preferable to another routine season at that level. They’ll experience new things on and off the pitch, hopefully get regular football and return to Celtic with more maturity.
Celtic pursuing this model is very promising. Striking productive link-ups with clubs around the UK, Ireland and Europe can only be a benefit moving forward.
Our young players need exposure to senior football and, once they reach a certain stage of their development, that shouldn’t be in the Lowland League. It could really help to bridge the gap between the Celtic youth teams and the first team.
We’ll be following Anderson and Oluwayemi’s progress very closely over the next 12 months to see whether it’s worth sending out more players on loan to Austria. This could be the start of something that becomes the norm for Celtic.
In other news, James Forrest opens up on ‘frustrating’ 5-start season; lauds what Brendan Rodgers now brings to Celtic.
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