Brendan Rodgers has set his sights firmly on the future, with a clear emphasis on harnessing the potential of Celtic’s youth system.
His vision is to intertwine the exuberance of youth with the wisdom of experience, creating a robust pathway for emerging talents to flourish within the first-team setup.
“My life has always been about bringing young players through,” Rodgers told The Herald, underscoring his commitment to youth development as a central pillar of his managerial philosophy. The challenge at a club of Celtic’s magnitude lies in crafting a clear route for these young talents, a task Rodgers embraces wholeheartedly. “We have got some really good talented players. We have to create a pathway for them, that is the biggest thing. That is a real challenge at a big club, but I inherently believe in young players.”
The blend of youth and experience within a squad is a delicate balance to strike, yet it is one that the Celtic manager approaches with a clear strategy in mind. “You might not have a team full of them, but you certainly need to have those home-grown players coming through. If there is not a pathway they end up looking elsewhere. That is why I talk about minimising my squad so that your football strategy really becomes top, high-potential young players.”
“You need to have experience, those guys need that support around them. So that is what is key for me going forward and observing everything in this first season here. Have a squad that is at a high level and has a high capacity to develop and improve, but also create a pathway for young players.”
Celtic’s Young Talent
The likes of Danny Kelly and Rocco Vata have been highlighted by the Hoops boss as exemplars of the youth talent within the club. Vata, in particular, has earned praise for his transition to training with the first team, showcasing the potential benefits of such a pathway. “You see the likes of Danny Kelly and Rocco Vata. Rocco hasn’t had a lot of opportunity, but at least he is now training with us every day, he is in the squad and he is showing up so, so well. I am sure there will be other players who will come through. That is the key point of my time here.”
Celtic’s Biggest Issue
The narrative surrounding Celtic’s youth academy has been one of underutilisation and external poaching over the past decade. The talent has either not met the standards required for the first team, or, in cases where players have shown promise, they have often been snapped up by larger European clubs like Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Rodgers’ blueprint for Celtic’s future is not just about winning matches or titles; it’s about laying down a sustainable foundation that leverages the club’s youth talent.
By creating a viable pathway for these young players, Celtic aims to not only cultivate its next generation of stars but also to foster a deeper sense of belonging and identity within the club. While this is an admirable goal, we can’t help but think we don’t have the things in place to really make our academy work.
We need better scouts at youth level, and more importantly we need world class youth coaches who can really nurture young talent. No offence to any of the coaches at Celtic right now, but there are former players getting jobs when perhaps the net should be cast wider.
