JONATHON AFOLABI has opened up about the frustrations he experienced during his time at Celtic but admitted he has to take some responsibility, too.
After demonstrating impressive form for Ireland in the 2019 U–19 European Championships, the striker was signed by Celtic from Southampton, who already had the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths as their first-choice strikers, leaving very little room for Afolabi.
Although Jeremie Frimpong was able to make a significant impact and earn a £10 million transfer to the Bundesliga, Afolabi and the others never played in a competitive match for Celtic.
The lack of any level of soccer below the first team continues to be an issue at Celtic, with few prospects of anyone making their way into the first-team plans.
Afolabi has acknowledged that while he may not have taken full advantage of the opportunities available to him, but was grateful for the learning experience. He said: [Irish Independent]
“I read that Celtic was bad for a lot of young Irish players, us not breaking through but there are two sides to it, if the players don’t perform, they have no reason to put you into the first team. We had different pathways and we’re making our way now in different ways.
“I take responsibility for stuff I could have done better, been more professional, I didn’t do anything wrong as such but there were steps I needed to take to improve, if I had taken all of my opportunities it could have been a different story for me at Celtic, you have to be ready when it happens.
“I can’t say it was three wasted years, I learned the levels you need to be at, how professional you need to be, what hard work you need to put that Celtic shirt.”
