Celtic have a number of exciting young players in their ranks that could potentially become regular first-team players in the future.
One name that immediately springs to mind is 19-year-old winger Karamoko Dembele.
As a product of Celtic’s youth academy, the winger has gone on to make ten appearances in the senior side.
With those ten appearances under his belt, the teenager found the back of the net during their 4-0 win over St. Johnstone in December.
Now that Ange Postecoglou’s side have ended the 2021/22 SPFL season as league champions, the upcoming summer transfer window will give the Parkhead club the chance to make whatever changes to their squad that they see fit.
With that in mind, it seems as though the Hoops may have already identified one figure that could come in and potentially be their next version of Dembele.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from Football.Scotland, Celtic are eyeing a summer move for Cardiff City youngster Japhet Matondo.
The 16-year-old can reportedly play on the left and right wings and has already featured for Wales’ U23 side.
The report also claims that the Bhoys “would benefit from the cross border compensation fee rule which would mean they would only have to stump up around £130k for the teenager.”
Do you think Karamoko Dembele will have a big future at Celtic?
Taking into account how the Hoops have seen some of their young players leave the club in recent times such as Ben Doak and Leo Hjelde, this apparent interest in Matondo shows that the club aren’t allowing their youth ranks to be depleted.
Their deals to sign Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw, both from Sheffield Wednesday, also show that the Parkhead club aren’t shy when it comes to signing players from down south, and in particular, the EFL.
If the SPFL champions are able to secure a deal for the Welsh youngster and add him to their ranks this summer, this will provide the club with another potential future first-team star.
Should Matondo find himself performing to a high standard in Celtic’s youth sides, he could well follow in the footsteps of fellow winger and highly-rated teenager, Dembele, and start to get the odd chance to shine in the senior team and show Postecoglou what he’s made of.
