Celtic starlet Dara Jikiemi has agreed terms with Liverpool, it has been reported.
The Reds’ interest in the 15-year-old defender is well-documented, and Celtic were reported to be anticipating a bid last week.
And the move now seems set to happen, as Celtic lose yet another talented youngster to the riches of the Premier League.
Jikiemi is yet to appear for the B team but still plays above his age group, for the Hoops’ under-18 team. He is also a Scotland youth international.
He now looks set to follow in the footsteps of Ben Gannon-Doak and move from Glasgow to Merseyside in his mid-teens.
Celtic youngster Dara Jikiemi agrees terms with Liverpool
The report from The Secret Scout says that Jikiemi wasn’t included in Scotland youth action against Spain in preparation for the move.
And before Celtic fans even got to know him, he is already moving on.
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Gannon-Doak is just the tip of the iceberg – it has become far too common to see Celtic youngsters moving on before breaking through at senior level, given the history of the Hoops’ academy.
Aidan Borland to Aston Villa, Daniel Cummings to West Ham, Rory Mahady to Leeds… the list goes on.
Rocco Vata has been valued at £20m by Watford amid Premier League interest, after he opted to move to the Championship in search of first-team football.
Daniel Kelly moved to Millwall for the same reason, but his move has been less successful so far.
It’s been over five years since Celtic youth duo Liam Morrison and Barry Hepburn made their surprise moves to Bayern Munich. Morrison now plays for QPR, whilst Hepburn has been a free agent for over a year.
In that time, there has been a notably low number of first-team success stories from the academy, so here’s hoping that Colby Donovan can buck that trend.
Celtic will also be hoping to see recent developments at Barrowfield make a difference.
Celtic’s recent upgrades at Barrowfield
Fan reactions to the Barrowfield news weren’t all positive, given the relative lack of investment in the Hoops’ transfer business this summer.
The facility will now be designated for the Celtic Womens team as well as the academy.
According to the club, the work cost £20 million – a pretty significant fee given that it won’t directly benefit the first-team.
And if players continue to move on as Jikiemi has, this huge issue will continue to affect Celtic’s youth system.
Were Celtic right to invest £20 million in Barrowfield with so many academy players leaving?
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