Talented midfielder Filip Twardzik has been included in the squad for the weekend Emirates Cup where Celtic face Lyon and Arsenal.
It’s expected that Celtic’s strongest side will face Lyon with a younger side taking on Arsenal the following day.
That could give Twardzik the chance to go head-to-head with Jack Wilshere who is tipped to make the breakthrough at Arsenal this season after being out on loan to Owen Coyle at Burnley last term.
Twardzik joined Celtic from Hertha Berlin in January last year and comes from a strong footballing family with his father and elder brother both goalkeepers and twin brother Patrik also at Celtic.
When I asked him why he hadn’t followed in the family tradition of being a goalkeeper he laughed suggesting that he’s too good a player to be wasted as a keeper.
Filip catches the eye for more than his floppy mop of blonde hair, his game has got a bit of everything but with his youth comes the ability to frustrate as well as excite in equal measures.
In the SPL u-19 league he often gets singled out for some physical treatment from less talented opponents, a factor he’ll have to live with as his career develops.
As well as being elegant and skillful he has a great energy about his game, I remember one game against Hamilton last season where he won a 50-50 on the half way line, sent the ball out wide then was waiting in the penalty box to finish the move off.
If memory serves me right he also almost scored with a speculative 50 yard shot in that match noting the Accies keeper off his line.
In the second half of last season he wasn’t always a regular in the u-19 side but was able to make an instant contribution to the SFA Youth Cup Final with a telling header to put Celtic 2-0 in front within a couple of minutes of coming off the bench.
How he performs against Arsenal will be interesting. At the end of last season he impressed for the Czech Republic at the u-17 European Championships which England won, at a recent Celtic Q&A session it was reported that the club had turned down a significant offer from Italy for one of the Twardzik twins.
Neil Lennon has managed to add almost an entirely new midfield since getting the job on a permanent basis, hopefully there’s scope this season to watch Filip Twardzik develop into the player that he’s dropped hints at becoming- an impressive showing against the highly rated Arsenal kids would certainly make others sit up and take notice.
On Tuesday of this week Filip’s free-kick earned Celtic a 1-0 win over Liverpool in front of a handful of onlookers at Lennoxtown- the weekend audience to showcase his ability will be far larger.
Two wins out of two for Celtic youth team
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your articles on the youth set-up’s are always interesting reading. keep it up.
hail, hail from thailand
Great news from Belgium this morning with PATRIK Twardzik scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win over Botofogo. Three wins out of three for Stevie Frails team at Eurofoot Cup