It’s a tale as old as time:
Celtic youngsters, who haven’t yet broken into the first team, having their heads turned by the riches of the Premier League.
Dara Jikiemi has agreed a move to Liverpool just this week, becoming the latest and following in the footsteps of Ben Gannon-Doak.
Aidan Borland, Daniel Cummings and Rory Mahady are just three others to have made the move in recent years, whilst Rocco Vata and Daniel Kelly have moved to the Championship for more playing time.
Ireland youth international Armstrong Oko-Flex joined Celtic from Arsenal in 2018, but made just two first-team appearances before joining West Ham three years – he’s been discussing his career.
Were Celtic right to invest £20 million in Barrowfield with so many academy players leaving?
Ex-Celtic youngster Armstrong Oko-Flex on Celtic pathway
Oko-Flex was seen as a coup for the Hoops when they secured his signature at the age of 16.
But in the end, he didn’t make the breakthrough he was planning for – his off-field antics certainly didn’t help matters.
READ MORE: Luke McCowan opens up on ‘horrible’ experience of not playing in Celtic’s last League Cup final
But reflecting on his time in Glasgow, Oko-Flex made some interesting comments on the Hoops’ academy situation at the time.
He told the Irish Examiner: “A lot of talented young players were at Celtic as well as me, but had to find a pathway outside of Celtic.
“I’m not saying it’s impossible to play in the first team there, but it depends on the management and the situation.
“Damien [Duff] is probably one of the top coaches I remember working with.
It didn’t work out for him at West Ham, and after a loan move to Swansea, his career has taken a few interesting turns, leading him to Switzerland and Bulgaria.
He said: “I was at Zurich, and the last few months weren’t the best for me, so I just wanted to go somewhere and be allowed to play, express myself and be given the chance”, he stated.
“The Bulgarian move came up as an option and it was a different challenge, and allowed me to grow as a player and as a person. So this new environment has been different and it’s been good for me.
“With us in Ireland and the UK, we probably don’t know much outside the top five leagues, which is understandable, and I feel like that was part of my mindset, to go somewhere where I’ll be allowed to be given the chance to play as much as possible.
“Of course, there are always good and bad sides with every potential move you go to, and you just have to weigh it up as a player.”
What should be done to stop so many Celtic youngsters leaving?
Armstrong Oko-Flex’s Celtic youth teammates, and where they are now
Oko-Flex wasn’t seen as the main man in the Hoops’ young team at the time – that was, of course, Karamoko Dembele.
Dembele gets a harsh time from some Celtic fans. Where many could’ve agreed a move away at 16 (he had nearly every team in Europe after him), he made the bold choice to sign a professional contract at Celtic Park. For a multitude of reasons, it didn’t work out, and he now plays for QPR.
Ewan Henderson was also a highly-rated teenager at the time, and followed in his brother’s footsteps with a move to Hibs. After two years in Belgium, he recently joined Wycombe.
Scott Robertson, Conor Hazard and Jack Aitchison are among the others from that generation who now play in the EFL.
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