Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor has been talking up the benefits of youth development at the club.
McGregor is a graduate of the Celtic academy himself. He benefited from both progressing through development sides and spending time out on loan elsewhere.
The first-team regular is part of a clutch of talents who have managed to make a name for themselves in the senior side over the last ten years. James Forrest and Kieran Tierney also stand out as notable former academy players.
McGregor thinks a focus on youth development will pay off for the club in years to come.
Speaking to the official club YouTube channel, he said this week: “It’s absolutely vital for the success of this club that we keep producing young talents that can make the step into the first-team. We’ve been quite lucky in recent history, we’ve had quite a lot.
“The finances in football these days, it’s virtually impossible to go and buy a team of international players.
“You have to trust the youth set-up, invest in it properly, give them the time to come in, make mistakes, grow as players, grow as people. Then when they get to that stage they’re ready to go on and take that into the first-team on a long-term basis.
“First of all, you have to show the right attitude for the young players to get through, then if you do that, you work hard and you apply yourself properly in training then it’s part of the DNA of the club to give the young players a chance.
“I think that will stand the club in really good stead in years to come.”
Could Celtic be doing more for youth development?
Stephen Welsh is the latest young Celtic player to make a first-team impact. However, beyond the central defender, there aren’t many being given opportunities in the first-team right now.
Realistically, the league has been over since January and yet neither Neil Lennon nor John Kennedy have yet turned to some of the prospects emerging from Lennoxtown.
Ewan Henderson and Adam Montgomery were both at least included on the bench against Aberdeen at the weekend, which perhaps bodes well for their chances under the interim boss.
I can’t help but feel we could be doing more to get minutes into the legs of youngsters. As McGregor notes, they need to make mistakes, they need the experience of pressure to win matches.
With the stress and expectancy of ‘the ten’ no longer relevant, we should be blooding in the next generation of talent as much as possible.
In other news, there’s a title-winning, available manager no-one is talking about for Celtic.
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