Celtic youngster Ewan Otoo earns praise from Lennon, while impressing on SPFL loan

By Euan Davidson

April 1, 2021

Celtic youngster Ewan Otoo is already impressing Clyde boss Danny Lennon.

The defender only made his first competitive appearance in late March. In a Scottish Cup match against Keith, a  358-mile round-trip, Otoo impressed as The Bully Wee secured a 2-0 win.

The League One side face a fixture build-up having only recently returned to league action. That means plenty of opportunities for the 18-year-old, who can play left-back, centre-back and in midfield. It’s his versatility and promise that tempted Lennon to make a move.

His attitude, though, has stood out for the eccentric manager. He said [Daily Record]:

“Like anything, I believe when you’re given that access, the more that you go and play at that level, the quicker these boys learn.

“What he does have is a terrific attitude, for a very young boy he’s years ahead in terms of maturation, and is a very strong, powerful boy.

“He’ll come in there and certainly aid us in an area that has been a bit of an Achilles heel for us, not just this season but for a few. This week is coming into a very hectic schedule and we are starting to get stretched a bit.

“There’s a bit more aches and pains, a bit longer now to recover, with the games coming as fast as they are, so this is where the strength and perhaps the opportunity will arise for one of these youngsters to get an opportunity.”

Lennoxtown / (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Eccentric Danny Lennon is tough to please; Celtic academy talent Ewan Otoo clearly doing something right

Former St Mirren and Alloa Athletic has some pretty strange views on adolescence.

Famously, he told the BBC he wanted to bring back National Service. Not only that, his comments about sparrows and marooning “20-25 kids” on an island to coach football are unusual to say the least.

If you read those comments in a kind light, you could say that Lennon has high expectations for developing players. Clyde have Otoo and 3 other players on loan from the Premiership, but the boss won’t give opportunities to undeserving talents.

So, 18-year-old Otoo has to have trained to a fantastic standard to deserve public praise. That can only be a good thing for Celtic. It’s also useful that the Scottish youngster is involved with a club battling relegation. It’s an experience he won’t go through with Celtic. The kind of resolve and mental fortitude needed at that end of the table will only serve him well in the future.

With Luca Connell, Ewan Henderson and others impressing on loan, it’s a very good sign for the Academy. For all the criticism lobbied at the club, game-time at a higher level than youth football can surely only be a positive thing.

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