Celtic wonderkid Zion Pullan has earned a call-up for Spain with his incredible form at academy level.
Pullan, who only turned 15 in February, has played as a winger at U15 and U17 level for the Hoops this season, scoring a stunning 58 goals.
He typically operates as a right-footer on the left. Earlier this year, he gained attention for scoring a hat-trick against Rangers for the U15s.
He certainly looks to be one of the most exciting talents to come from the Celtic academy in recent years… and his international future is interesting.
Why are Celtic struggling to bring through academy players?
Celtic’s Zion Pullan in international tug-of-war
As reported by The Talent Hunter on X, Pullan has received his first international call-up for the Spanish under-15s, who have a double-header against France this month.
Pullan has already represented Scotland at the same level earlier this season, and is also eligible for Nigeria.
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Pullan is incredibly young — talk of his future at senior international level isn’t worth a lot at this minute. However, it would certainly be a hammer blow for the SFA to lose a player who has excelled in their academy system.
Few national teams have a reputation as glowing as Spain’s. They are, of course, the reigning European champions and among the favourites for this summer’s World Cup.
In this decade so far, teenagers Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsi and Gavi have all made their international breakthroughs for La Roja, excelling in doing so.
As for Celtic and Scotland, there is precedent here. Both Karamoko Dembele and Islam Feruz were subject of intense publicity prior to even making their senior debuts for the Hoops.
Dembele was subject of a similar international tug-of-war, opting to play for England alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala.
Ultimately, neither fulfilled their potential. To his credit, Dembele did turn down major offers to commit to a senior contract at Celtic Park, though senior minutes remained hard to come by.
Feruz, on the other hand, featured in Tommy Burns’ memorial match aged just 14, but rejected a senior contract two years later to join Chelsea. He retired without making a senior appearance for the Blues.
More recently, Ben Gannon-Doak was integrated into the Hoops first team almost immediately after turning 16, but still opted to reject the club in favour of Liverpool. Now aged 20, he already has 12 caps for Scotland.
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