Neil Lennon has heaped the praise onto the Celtic youth system that has helped to develop the likes of Kieran Tierney.
The Scotland international sealed his move from Celtic to Arsenal on Thursday, netting the club a record fee of £25million in the process. And with other academy graduates like Callum McGregor and James Forrest having a big impact on the current first-team, Lennon chose to praise the work that’s being done.
“I think it’s a fantastic example of the work that’s done behind the scenes,” he told the official Celtic YouTube channel. (7 mins, 30 secs)
“We take a huge amount of pride in homegrown players coming through and Kieran is the latest one.
“Jamesy, Callum and now Mikey Johnston are making significant contributions in the first-team and that shows the younger ones that there is a pathway here.
“If you do the right things, and protect your talent, and if we recognise that the talent is there then there’s a real ambition and an opportunity here to play first-team football on a regular basis.”
Lennon is right about the Celtic youth system
The official Celtic website has a page dedicated to the Academy. In its introduction it says the Academy “strives to develop first team regulars who are capable of performing in the Champions League for Celtic.”
By that definition, it is certainly doing its job. As Lennon correctly points out, three of Celtic’s current first-team starters hail from the youth setup. Kieran Tierney would have been a fourth had he been fit in recent months. To have almost half of your first-team come from the youth system is a really terrific accolade.
Added to that, there are players on the fringes of the Celtic squad like Calvin Miller, Anthony Ralston and Ewan Henderson who have contributed in recent years. Karamoko Dembele is another that big things are expected of while there are others who have moved on and had their success away from the club.
Liam Henderson is forging a fine career for himself in Italy while Liverpool’s Andy Robertson – a Champions League winner – also learned his trade at Celtic.
And that’s only in the past decade. If you go back further you could have Aiden McGeady, Shaun Maloney or Stephen McManus.
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