Celtic have offered Scotland under-19 international Kyle Joseph a pre-contract, according to Football Insider.
The website believes that the Hoops are wary of interest from English Premier League outfit Spurs. Therefore, it’s been reported that we’ve tried to move early and secure the deal.
Joseph, currently plying his trade with Wigan Athletic in League One, has five goals in 16 appearances this season. However, he hasn’t featured since late January due to being sidelined with a troubling back injury [Transfermarkt].
Football Insider believes that Spurs are currently looking over the player before making their move. Therefore, as of right now, Celtic’s offer is reportedly the only one on the table.
Should Joseph sign, he would be the second player acquired for the new season after the signing of Liam Shaw. However, given his inexperience, the 19-year-old would surely drop into the development squad.
Beefing up the Celtic Academy isn’t the worst idea; pre-contract agreements will give us a long-term boost
There’s a certain profile of player coming to the fore here when you look at the likes of Shaw and Joseph.
Joseph, for example, only has 16 senior appearances to his name. This has been his breakthrough season as he shows some early promise. As for Sheffield Wednesday’s Celtic-bound Shaw, he only has 24 senior outings on his record. These have come both with Wednesday and Chesterfield respectively [Transfermarkt].
Both are talents who scream as though they’ll be joining the Celtic Academy at Lennoxtown. Players who will have to wait for their first-team opportunities.
And this makes sense given the raft of talent we’ve lost and look set to lose from our youth ranks. Celtic have watched on as the likes of Liam Morrison, Barry Hepburn, and Liam Hughes have all departed in recent transfer windows. Karamoko Dembele and Armstrong Oko-Flex, meanwhile, are out of contract in the summer with no signs of new deals being signed.
That leaves us in a horrible position when it comes to the academy. There will be gaping holes of quality that Celtic could do with filling. The likes of Shaw and Joseph will help to cover some of those losses. It shows some proper investment going into youth development.
That, regardless of the fact we don’t yet have a manager, is a decent boost.
In other news, Celtic have been urged not to give Rangers a guard of honour at Parkhead.
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