This season, Stephen Welsh has gone from academy prospect to first-team regular and signing a long-term deal at the club which will keep him here until at least 2025.
Over the last 10 years or so, we have seen some great academy prospects coming through such as Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and James Forrest who have all played a key part in the side.
However, despite their success ideally, we would have seen a bigger impact from the academy with more players coming through to play regularly for the first team.
There could be an argument that this is due to some not being given the opportunity to show what they are capable of and I believe that Stephen Welsh is the perfect example as to why more youngsters from the academy should be given a chance.
Every player coming through might not be the next Kieran Tierney, who goes on to become one of the best full-backs in the English Premier League. One thing that Welsh has shown though is that given the chance they can prove themselves to be solid additions to the squad.
Some players might not be ‘world-beaters’ but with the number of games played in a season, they can provide cover across multiple positions on the park.
Going into this rebuild that is set to take place, a big focus for me has to go on youth development and the plans for the future.
With several players leaving to go to clubs such as Manchester City or Bayern Munich it is clear we have some talented youngsters coming through, so why not set out a plan that will see them get their chances in the first-team eventually.
The way that transfer dealings are going nowadays, it feels like we could be getting closer to relying on bringing through more homegrown talents at a club like Celtic. So going forward, that opportunity has to be given to showcase exactly what youngsters can add to future squads and develop them into even better players, playing regular football.
