Celtic have had issues with young players making waves at Parkhead in the past.
The Hoops have lost a number of teens from their ranks for down south with the likes of Daniel Kelly moving on, Liam Morrison and Barry Hepburn bidding farewell and Josh Adam moving to Manchester City.
Perhaps the highest profile move was when Ben Doak switched to Liverpool and Celts only earned a cross-border compensation fee for the prodigious talent.
The Celtic academy hoped recently to bolster their ranks with a young starlet by the name of Mason Melia.
The St Patrick’s Athletic kid, 17, turns 18 in September and Celts hoped to make a move for the talented teen after showing a keen interest back in early January.
A bid for Melia was in the works but the Scottish Premiership giants were facing competition from Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League under former gaffer Ange Postecoglou.
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Big Ange and the Spurs academy recruitment staff made it clear they wanted to land Melia who has a big future in the game.
And it was announced this week, following Celtic’s deadline day plodding along with no striker signed to replace Kyogo, that Spurs had signed Melia in what was a record-breaking fee for a League of Ireland player.
Spurs’ academy social media accounts confirmed the news as they welcomed the Irishman to North London.
They wrote: “We’re delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement with League of Ireland side @StPatsFC for the transfer of Mason Melia.
“The 17-year-old forward has agreed a deal that will run until 2031 and will join us in January, 2026.
“Welcome to Spurs, Mason.”
Melia was always due to stay on loan at St Pat’s until the end of the year.
His move to the Premier League is believed to be worth more than £1million after an initial offer was booted out by the Irish outfit.
Mason Melia joined Spurs for a record fee
Melia is a record breaker in Ireland having become the club’s youngest ever goal scorer and player having beaten his own milestone twice at 15.
Melia played 54 times for the club and has 10 goals and he received a call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21s back in October.
St Pat’s confirmed the sale as a record.
They posted a statement which read: “St Patrick’s Athletic can confirm we have agreed the transfer of Mason Melia to Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee, which is a record transfer fee for a League of Ireland player.
“Mason, who turns 18 in September, will remain at Richmond Park for the 2025 League of Ireland season, and will move to Tottenham on January 1st 2026.”
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