Celtic are once again facing the prospect of losing one of their brightest young prospects to the lure of the English Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur poised to snap up teenager Conall Glancy.
According to journalist Mark Hendry, the Hoops are bracing themselves for renewed interest from down south, with several top-flight English clubs keeping tabs on emerging talent at Lennoxtown. The latest in a growing list, Glancy looks set to follow the well-trodden path south of the border.
The move will come as yet another blow to Celtic, who have seen a number of academy graduates slip through their fingers in recent years. Ben Doak’s high-profile switch to Liverpool in 2022 was the most prominent, while both Rocco Vata and Daniel Kelly eventually moved on after limited first-team opportunities.
Glancy’s development has not gone unnoticed, with Spurs now leading the chase to secure his signature. The highly-rated youngster is being lined up for a professional contract, with Celtic unable to compete with the financial muscle.
This trend of youth departures has been a concern for some time now for those at the club who are keen to see Celtic’s youth system not just produce talent, but retain it.
The lowland league experiment has failed for the Celtic B side and the club are now exploring other options to help prepare young players for the first team and show them the pathway is there. Talks with Queens Park could see a mutually beneficial relationship where Celtic loan out top prospects on a regular basis to the Glasgow side. But how you ward off attention from down south is another fight altogether.