Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has said he’s not shepherding players out the door, but fringe youngsters will be helped to find loan deals if they want.
The Celtic boss, who sounded remarkably relaxed about all things transfer-wise, remains calm and methodical during the January transfer window. And he’s said that what’s key is giving opportunities to young players who want to develop elsewhere – temporarily.
Liam Shaw and Barry Coffey have already sealed recent loan deals. Shaw has joined Motherwell [MFC], while Coffey will see out the rest of the season with Cork City. Defender Osaze Urhoghide has been linked with Dundee and Morecambe.
There could be more to come. However, Postecoglou isn’t pushing anyone out of Celtic, it’s a collaborative process.
Postecoglou said [Celtic FC/YouTube 07:47]: “No-one needs to go out, we’re not forcing anyone out.
‘It’s just that some players want to go out on loan to continue their development. Because it’s important to us. Other players who haven’t had the opportunity might look to somewhere else to get more opportunities.
“We don’t have to push anyone out, we’re not forcing anyone to leave.
“We’ve got a couple going out on loan, we hope we’ll get a couple more out on loan in this window. Because again, the important part of any young player’s development is playing regularly. So we’re working towards that.”
Celtic boss Postecoglou speaks in plain terms about youngsters needing time out on loan
It really is that simple.
We can only start 11 players a game. Until that changes, the fact is that a number of players, particularly younger ones, are going to need loans elsewhere. That will forever be the case for big clubs like ours.
We’ve already seen some youngsters excel out on loan. Ross Doohan is doing extremely well at Tranmere Rovers, and Lee O’Connor is becoming a favourite there, too. Luca Connell has helped Queens Park a great deal this season. Scott Robertson at Crewe Alexandra, and so on and so forth.
With the squad size Postecoglou has at Celtic, it’s obvious that more players will need to head out to garner more first-team experience. Osaze Urhoghide is top of that list. Players like Adam Montgomery, Dane Murray et al may also require time elsewhere to add to their game.
While Ange wasn’t giving much away in terms of sales, Celtic making more loan deals seems entirely likely. The squad could undoubtedly use some pruning, but in terms of developing talent, it’s a prerogative for Postecoglou to make sure Celtic Academy talents aren’t left in progression limbo.
Expect to see more on this front soon enough.
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