Celtic are reportedly in talks over SFA club co-operation agreements (CCAs) with Dumbarton and East Kilbride.
The potential agreements would give Celtic the opportunity to move players on loan to the lower league clubs at any point in the season, unbounded by usual transfer window rules.
Meanwhile, Celtic’s B team are about to embark on a sixth season in the Lowland League, Scotland’s regional fifth tier which has recently been restructured.
So can the two initiatives co-exist sustainably?
🤔 Will Celtic’s co-operation agreements replace the B team in the long run?
Celtic are alone in running B team along with CCAs
Rangers withdrew their B team from the Lowland League in 2023, having finished runners up in both of their two seasons in the division.
Hearts also announced that their B team would no longer participate from the beginning of this season.
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Both clubs instead pivoted heavily towards CCAs, with the Ibrox side replacing the Lowland League with cross-border academy friendlies, and Hearts incorporating Jamestown Analytics into their academy.
What makes Celtic so different that they’ve stuck by the B team?
The proof will be in the pudding. In theory, the best teenagers in the academy will be designated for CCAs to ensure that they play at a more appropriate level.
Last season, Celtic’s partnership with Ayr United saw Kyle Ure, Ben Summers, Francis Turley and Jude Bonnar play at Scottish Championship level under Scott Brown.
CCAs have seen a huge increase in minutes played by under-21 players in Scotland’s top four divisions, a welcome development in Scottish football.
But whether or not it will be enough to prevent youngsters from moving down south is a different question.
It’s hard not to take the cynical stance that CCAs will replace the B team in the long run
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Who is to blame for Marcelo Saracchi not returning to Celtic? 🤔
The left-back has made his feelings clear….👀🍀
Celtic B continues to be questioned
Colby Donovan is the only former B team player to have any kind of meaningful involvement in the senior squad over the last five years.
The success of the recently-introduced club co-operation loan system has given the Hoops easier avenues to shipping out young players to clubs at SPFL level.
As of the end of the season, Celtic had six players on loan in the Scottish Championship: two at Partick Thistle and four at Ayr United.
Dara Jikiemi is the latest in a long line of players to have their heads turned away from professional contracts at Celtic in recent years.
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