Celtic have high hopes for Barry Coffey.
The Tipperary native is a creative midfielder, a Republic of Ireland youth international and a great prospect. At the Euro Under-19 Championships in 2019, Coffey scored a winner against the Czech Republic. A pre-season regular under Neil Lennon, Coffey hasn’t broken into the first-team as yet, but he has time on his side.
Only 19, Coffey has today secured a loan move to Cliftonville in the Danske League, and it makes perfect sense. 4th in the Northern Irish top-flight, Cliftonville aren’t far from second place, having recently beaten Linfield 4-3 [Belfast Live].
Cliftonville announced the deal via their official website, with the Irish youngster joining for the remainder of the season. With reserve and youth football postponed in Scotland, Coffey needs big-game experience and this is the perfect route for him.
Having joined Celtic from Nenagh AFC in 2017, Coffey signed a 2-year extension around this time last year [Celtic FC]. Both Manchester clubs and Chelsea were interested [Daily Record], but Celtic provided the most attractive option.
Celtic youngster Barry Coffey: highly rated
In Celtic’s development squads, Coffey has come up as a name to watch on several occasions. In 2019, he trained with the first team for the first time, and he’s seen as a real talent by the coaching staff.
However, there are plenty of established options in front of him. Central midfield is probably Celtic’s strongest area. Callum McGregor, Ismaila Soro, David Turnbull, Scott Brown, Ryan Christie, Olivier Ntcham and Tom Rogic all sit ahead of Coffey. Equally, the likes of Ewan Henderson, Scott Robertson and Kerr McInroy have made strides in their development.
It’s a crowded field, no doubt. However, a successful loan spell will give Celtic plenty to think about.
At the very least, it’ll give Celtic supporters a proper look at Coffey’s attributes. There is, of course, an established historical link between Cliftonville and Celtic [Goal], and there will be plenty of Irish Celtic supporters who would’ve watched the North Belfast side regardless.
Coffey will be in a comfortable environment for his development. A few stellar performances, and the next Celtic manager could have a real headache picking his midfield of the future.
Meanwhile, today’s opposition manager wants to exploit a Celtic fragility.
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