Celtic loanee Jonathan Afolabi is making steady progress in the SPFL

By Euan Davidson

January 13, 2021

Celtic youngster Jonathan Afolabi has worked hard for his chances.

The Dublin-born centre-forward has spent this season on loan at Dundee, where most recently, he rescued the Taysiders from an embarrassing Scottish Cup exit (BBC).

Adding that vital goal to a clinical penalty against Hearts on the 2nd, (The Courier), Afolabi has had a fruitful spell in the City of Discovery. Off the pitch, however, the young Irishman was subjected to vile racist abuse (The Guardian).

Speaking to Not The Old Firm, Afolabi seemed very happy with his efforts in Dundee so far. With an eye of adding to his tally over the course of the season, the young striker spoke enthusiastically.

He said:

“It was a huge relief as we were in the last seconds of the game and I am delighted it went in. I just want to kick on now at Dundee.

“This is one of those games that I will remember for a long time. It is one of my first professional games and it is good to get a last-minute goal like that. We did very well to pull it back in the end after a slow start. It was just good to get over the line in the end.

“I always kept believing and when I came on, I knew I had a job to do. Luckily I managed to get the goal to take the game to extra time and give us a chance to win it. The main thing is we are in the next round. If we can go on a good run, looking back, I don’t think anyone will be remembering this game.”

Celtic youngster Jonathan Afolabi is impressing in Dundee / (Photo by Roddy Scott/SNS Group via Getty Images)

A potentially bright future awaits for Celtic youngster Afolabi

Signed from Southampton in 2019 (Transfermarkt), 20-year-old Afolabi may see his chances at Celtic improve if he can build on his recent performances.

Scoring goals is always going to garner headlines, especially when they save your team from ignominy. His attitude seems excellent, and with the current crisis at Celtic, there’s every chance he’d get a game just now.

Cameron Harper was selected against Hibernian on Monday night, as the Bhoys had no recognised strikers available. Edouard, Ajeti, Griffiths and Klimala all had to miss the 1-1 draw, and the lack of a centre-forward was incredibly noticeable.

Here’s hoping that the strong-willed young striker can take more chances with James McPake’s side. Having only made 10 appearances for Dundee so far, Afolabi will be keen to improve on his tally of 3 goals.

With his winning mentality and obvious talents, only a fool would bet against that happening.