Former Celtic youngster Jonathan Afolabi has reflected on his time at Parkhead after spending around two years in the club’s academy setup.
The Irishman joined during Neil Lennon’s second spell as permanent boss and was one of several academy signings in the summer of 2019.
Alongside fellow countryman Lee O’Connor and Luca Connell, the striker looked like a player for the future after joining from English Premier League side Southampton.
Unfortunately for Afolabi and his Ireland under-21s teammates, things didn’t quite work out as they might have hoped in Glasgow.
The young attacker had several spells out on loan in the Scottish lower leagues, including at clubs such as Dunfermline, Dundee, Ayr United and Airdrieonians.
But, it wasn’t enough to break through into the first team, and he ultimately left the Hoops without making a competitive first-team appearance.
Following his Celtic departure last summer, the former Southampton man joined Bohemians in the league of Ireland, and he has scored one goal in his four appearances for the club.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Ireland youth international reflected on his short stay as part of the academy hopefuls at Celtic.
The 23-year-old was honest and admitted things didn’t quite work out for him at Parkhead. But he still learned a lot from his brief time in Glasgow.
He said [The Independent]: “After two years, I think I knew I wasn’t going to make the first team, I had planned to get into the first team, that’s why I went there, but there are very high expectations at a club like Celtic they expect to win every game, and you need to be at the top of your level to even have a sniff.
“I read that Celtic was bad for a lot of young Irish players, us not breaking through, but there are two sides to it, if the players don’t perform, they have no reason to put you into the first team. We had different pathways, and we’re making our way now in different ways.
“I take responsibility for stuff I could have done better, been more professional, I didn’t do anything wrong as such, but there were steps I needed to take to improve, if I had taken all of my opportunities, it could have been a different story for me at Celtic, you have to be ready when it happens.”
“I can’t say it was three wasted years, I learned the levels you need to be at, how professional you need to be, what hard work you need to put on that Celtic shirt.”
Afolabi’s Parkhead stay didn’t go as hoped, but striker will be better off for academy stint.
Celtic supporters love to see young players rise through the academy and establish themselves as regular first-team players. Like any youngster, it would have been brilliant to see Afolabi succeed in doing just that.
However, it ultimately didn’t go as all parties would have hoped in the end.
The Bohemians striker is honest in his reflection of his short stay and Celtic and admits there could have been things he could have done better.
But in football, you do also need a bit of luck, particularly when trying to make it at the top level. and things just didn’t fall into place for the Irishman.
That being said, although his time with the club didn’t go as he would have hoped, he will still be much better off for his few years in the academy set-up.
Afolabi will have learned plenty of lessons, whether that be at Celtic or out on loan, which will aid him for a future in football.
Here’s hoping we can see the former academy prospect succeed this season in his first full campaign with his third permanent side.
In other news, Dwight Yorke makes bold claim about an Aberdeen title win; gets one thing wrong concerning Celtic.
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