Four young Celtic prospects have been called up to Scotland’s u19 squad ahead of the friendlies against Belgium and the Czech Republic next month.
In an announcement that was made this afternoon, full back Josh Dede, defenders Mitchel Frame and Daniel Kelly and midfielder, Magnus MacKenzie were all named in Billy Stark’s squad for the friendly double-header. [SFA]
The announcement highlights the amount of talent Celtic have in their ranks and recognises the great work being done by Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus who are tasked with coaching and developing the youngsters.
Dede already has 11 u17 caps and a goal to his name and has made seven appearances for the young Hoops so far this season.
Frame has been promoted from the U17s and will join Kelly. Both could be set to make their u19 debut for Stark next month.
18-year-old MacKenzie is also set for his first u19 cap under Stark after making five appearances for the u17s and three for the u18s.
Both fixtures will take place in Hasselt, Belgium. Scotland will face the Belgians on Wednesday the 6th of September with a 3pm kick-off and then on Saturday the 9th the Czech Republic come calling with kick-off at 1pm.
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It is an opportunity for all four to stake a claim for Stark’s Scotland squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.
All four players are an integral part of the Celtic B team and despite the youngster’s slow start to the season, they have been praised for their style of football in the Lowland League.
This will undoubtedly just be the start of the call-ups for the young Celtic team. Rocco Vata and Ben Quinn are also likely to be called up by the Irish FA to continue their journey with the u19 squad.
But for Celtic, they will be delighted that their youngsters are continuing to develop and are on the right path to progress their careers not only with the national side but also for the club.
The fans love nothing more than seeing young talent progress through the ranks and, hopefully, we will see that happen over the coming seasons.
In other news, Why Celtic are not firing on all cylinders under Brendan Rodgers; Charlie Mulgrew nails it