Who were the three reported Celtic trialists?

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The Celtic trialists that played against Arbroath were certainly the most intriguing aspects of the contest.

And, according to Video Celts, all three of the mystery players have been revealed. The source believes that the three players involved were former Rangers kid Liam Burt, midfielder Scott Robertson, and former Watford youngster Tom Leighton.

The match in Arbroath ended in a poor 1-0 defeat for the Celtic XI. It was mainly a group of youngsters, with the most experienced player in the squad being left-back Calvin Miller.

Talented upstarts such as Karamoko Dembele, Armstrong Oko-Flex, and Jack Aitchison also featured. Not a single first-team regular featured in the defeat.

But it was the three trialists who caught the eye on the team-sheet. There had been no reports of any fresh faces joining Celtic that could’ve played against Arbroath. So fair play to Video Celts for managing to dig this one out.

So who are the three Celtic trialists?

Burt is a name that some Celtic fans will recognise. He grew up in the Rangers academy, but left the club at the end of last season to pursue other opportunities. He’s had previous loan spells at Dumbarton and Alloa Athletic respectively. The midfielder has also been capped five times for Scotland at under-21 level.

Robertson, meanwhile, is a bit of an odd one. He played for Celtic as recently as the 6-1 pre-season win over Pinkafeld two weeks ago. He was a big part of that second-half display against the Austrians, in what was his first senior outing in green-and-white. The reason he was apparently listed as a trialist is because he was out-of-contract (VideoCelts).

The third is another recognisable name in Leighton. He grew up in Motherwell’s youth academy before joining Watford two years ago. Only last year, he signed his first professional contract with the English Premier League club too. The Hornets revealed at the time that it was just a one-year deal, however, with the option of taking it up for a further year. It appears, if Leighton did indeed play against Arbroath, that they decided not to.

Leighton never made a first-team appearance for Watford. If signed by Celtic, he’s another you would expect to continue his development with the reserve squad this season.

There haven’t been any reports of any of the three trialists being offered further deals. It remains to be seen what happens with the trio. But at the very least, at least that clears up the mystery!