It was an all-round successful night for Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side on Wednesday evening, as the Bhoys ran out 4-0 winners over Hibernian.
And it topped off with a debut for Celtic prospect Rocco Vata who became the 9th youngster player in the club’s history at age 17 years, eight months and ten days.
The young winger has been a standout in the Bhoys academy setup whilst playing for the B team and was rewarded with a debut at Easter Road.
Celtic supporters would have been delighted to see the Irish youth international play his first competitive minutes for the first team after an impressive rise.
His contributions at club and international youth levels have already started to catch the eye of European giants from across the globe.
And according to a report from Italian outlet Tuttomercato, scouts from clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid were present at Easter Road for his debut.
The same outlet has previously reported that sides including Juventus and Arsenal have watched the winger closely after impressive showings in the UEFA Youth League.
However, Ange Postecoglou seems keen to keep the attacker and showcased his faith midweek by handing Vata his Celtic debut.
The Irishman will hopefully have more opportunities to shine at Parkhead in the coming months as he continues to forge his pathway amongst the first team.
He will also have the continued opportunity to exhibit exactly what he can do for the Bhoys B side on the big stage tomorrow afternoon against our Glasgow rivals Rangers youth team.
The young Celts take on the academy players from Ibrox on Friday afternoon, and earlier today youth coach Darren O’Dea was looking on to the game.
Following on from Vata’s debut on Wednesday, the former Celtic defender congratulated the winger and praised him for his hard work.
He said [Celtic FC]: “The whole Academy, and certainly me and Stephen had huge pride in seeing Rocco make his debut yesterday and I know his family did as well.
“That’s ultimately the measure of whether the B Team will be a success or not. Clearly, we had a change in structure and how we did things in the summer.
“That’ll take time to bed in, but ultimately that’s where we want to be judged on – how many players we can move from the B team into the first team and not only make their debut but go on and impact the first team in the ways that players before them have done.
“So it was fantastic to see Rocco. At the minute he’s trained with the first team for an extended period of time. He’s travelled with the team abroad in the break there and has obviously done enough to warrant a place on the pitch last night.
“So it’s a great example to give to all of the players now that certainly with hard work, perseverance and a little bit of patience, their opportunities will come and to me, it’s down to the players to take those opportunities.”
Tomorrow afternoon provides Vata and his academy teammates with the opportunity to play in front of a crowd at Paradise.
It is bound to be a fantastic experience for all involved, and I am sure the entire squad will be buoyant following the attacker’s involvement with the first team this week!
In other news, Former Celtic hero aiming to strike up new club connection in North America.
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