Neil Lennon will cast his eyes over a number of youth players this summer and try to ascertain whether they’re good enough to make the step up to the first team. The majority of those youth stars will have spent last season with the development squad but there are a few who left the club altogether in search of first team football.
One such example is goalkeeper Ross Doohan. The Scotland under-21 international played his football for Championship high-flyers Ayr United last term. Doohan played every minute of the Honest Men’s 47 matches during the campaign and fared pretty well.
Out of those 47 matches, he kept clean sheets in 20 of them. Not bad when you consider Ayr were bookies favourites to go down at the start of the season.
Is he ready?
Quite simply, you’ll never know until you try. Doohan has proven himself to be a capable goalkeeper at a level where he was tested. Prior to his loan move to Somerset Park the club tied him up on a new four year deal. They clearly see a future for him but next season may be too early for him to push for a place.
Celtic’s best bet is to loan Doohan out again, this time to a Premiership club. The keeper could benefit from the greater exposure and pressure in the top-flight. Livingston are likely to be looking for a goalkeeper with Liam Kelly moving on so why don’t Celtic propose a one year loan deal for Doohan?
The 21-year-old will have learned so much from his first year playing as a professional footballer. He can surely only go one way from here.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
