Reported Celtic target Adrian Akande has left Chelsea after making it clear he did not want to stay with the Stamford Bridge side, Nigerian outlet The Daily Post report.

Celtic were linked to Akande back in September with allnigeriasoccer.com suggesting that both ourselves and Rangers were fighting it out for his signature, alongside big clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Now The Daily Post report he has officially left Chelsea and has been training with clubs in recent weeks; including at Steven Gerrard’s side.

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It’s said he has also joined up with West Ham United and Hoffenheim as he looks to find a new home and develop further.

Still just 16, the Nigeria U17 youth international is unlikely to be one for Celtic’s first-team, but his signature wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

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The club have been on the hunt for multiple young talents from the fringes of teams in England in recent months with players such as Jeremie Frimpong, Lee O’Connor and Luca Connell all making the move north.

Celtic Park Europa League

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

What do we know about Akande?

Well, if you believe his agent, then Akande is certainly an attacker with huge potential.

Comparing him to Eden Hazard and Ousmane Dembele, Tobi Alabi told allnigeriasoccer.com in April: “Adrian has been called for five England camps and has rejected all of them in hope of playing for Nigeria.

“He plays like Hazard and Barcelona’s Dembele. He is two-footed, very quick and strong on the ball. He can score the same, with both right foot and left foot and he is a hard worker.

“He has no weaknesses. I saw a mention that defensively he isn’t strong but he’s not a defender, he’s an attacker so his defensive capabilities aren’t important, of course, he will work hard for his team but he’s not a defender.”
 
A barrel load of salt is needed with those comments given they are from his agent, but he doesn’t sound half bad does he?
The outlet report that he scored  30 goals in 42 games for Chelsea’s youth teams last season, also creating 22 assists.
With so many clubs apparently chasing his signature, he must have something about him, so it’ll be interesting to see where he chooses to play his football.
It sounds like Celtic have their hat in the ring, so it’s a name to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
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