Liam Shaw has opened up on his initial switch from Sheffield Wednesday to Celtic as he stated that he felt “really weird” leaving his boyhood club.
The 20-year-old made the life-changing switch from the English Championship to the Scottish Premiership after coming through the youth ranks with Wednesday. With only a short loan spell at Chesterfield to his name, it was certainly a major step for the youngster.
Originally signed when Neil Lennon was boss, it wouldn’t have helped the youngster’s initial integration into Parkhead life with so much uncertainty and change lingering. John Kennedy was initially the interim boss before Ange Postecoglou arrived and revamped the club in the summer.
Now on loan with Motherwell for the rest of the season, Liam has been discussing his move to Glasgow. As quoted by the Daily Record, he said: “I am a Sheffield lad. It’s been a big move for me but I have been really enjoying it so far. Motherwell is a big club and I want to get in as many games as I can here. That will go on to help develop me and hopefully I can help the club while I’m here too. It was tough to leave Sheffield and move all the way up here. Sheffield is all I’ve known so it was hard.
“But I thought the move was the best decision for my career. I was at Sheffield Wednesday from the age of about eight or nine years of age. It’s pretty much half my life. So it was pretty weird walking out the door there for the final time.
“But I want to progress my career and I think this will help develop my career better. Ange Postecoglou likes to play a really fast tempo and there’s a lot of energy involved in it – which I enjoy.”
Liam Shaw’s Celtic career could be given a big boost in the next 4 months
It’s fair to say that the next 4 months is big for Liam Shaw and his Celtic career. Not in the sense that it’s make or break. Anything but. He’s still very early into his time as a Parkhead player and has a lot of time to develop before he’s truly judged.
However, he’s been given a golden opportunity with this move to Motherwell. Graham Alexander’s men are another side who like to keep the ball on the deck and play attractive football where possible. It will be intriguing to see how Shaw adapts after 6 months under Ange.
If he manages to impress, be a regular in the Motherwell first-team, and come back with a chunk of senior appearances to his name, he can consider it job done. That’s exactly what Ange will want from him.
Shaw has yet to make his Motherwell debut of course. That could happen against Hibernian tonight after he was on the bench for Saturday’s humdinger of a Scottish Cup clash against Greenock Morton. It would certainly be a challenging debut for him up against Shaun Maloney’s new-look Leith outfit.
But this is a vital stage in his career. A huge 4 months awaits him in which he could end up staking a claim for an opportunity at Celtic in the summer. That has to be the goal as Shaw looks to stand out in what’s becoming a crowded midfield battle in Glasgow.
All eyes on how he copes in North Lanarkshire then. With an impressive Celtic debut against Real Betis back in December to his name, he should have no fear over what the coming months hold.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou pushing Celtic loan exits in the final week of the transfer window
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