With Liam Henderson set to make his Rosenborg debut tomorrow against Aalesund, finding the right development route is clearly an area occupying Ronny Deila’s thoughts.
Over the last 15 years the first team squad at Celtic has had more than 20 contenders making it difficult for emerging players to reach the substitutes bench never mind break into the team.
While player development is an important role at Celtic only first team success will allow a manager to indulge in medium term plans.
Deila’s developments plans can be summed up in Henderson who has only featured fleetingly, but impressively, since the Norwegian took charge of Celtic.
At the turn of the year the 18-year-old impressed away to Kilmarnock and Hamilton Accies but as the transfer window closed Deila had signed Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong with a view to reaching next season’s Champions League group stage.
Add in James Forrest, Kris Commons, Stefan Johansen and Anthony Stokes and it’s difficult to marry up how Henderson’s needs and the call of Champions League riches can both be satisfied.
Recent Celtic loan moves have been hit or miss with Callum McGregor excelling at Notts County while Bahrudin Atajic’s career nose dived during a stint at Shrewsbury.
Deila is determined to give the clubs Academy prospects the best possible chance of success and intends sending more players out to the continent to follow Henderson route to success.
“Liam Henderson, for me, is maybe the best Under-19 player in Scotland,” Deila said of the midfielder. “But in terms of first-team level he is a good Scottish Premiership player. He is talented, very talented, but he’s not better than a good Scottish Premiership player.
“He would play in 70-80 per cent, maybe even 90 per cent of the other teams but again it’s important to tell a young player you are the best player at Under-17 in Scotland but you are a Second Division player for me.
“You have the best chance to get up there, though. You have ability and opportunities to reach that level and when you come up to the first team that’s because you are talented – not because you are good enough yet.
“But then you have to work really hard just to get up to the first team. Liam is that – he’s been the closest of the youngsters. He was born in 1996 and he has played 15 games for us, that’s good at Celtic.”
Turning promising 17-year-old’s into top team players at 22 is one of the hardest tasks in the game.
In recent times at Celtic around a dozen prospects have made their debut but none have been able to develop into genuine first team starters.
Bridging that gap could open up a new source of ready made players with Deila looking to exploit the loan market to ensure that the club’s youngest players get the best possible opportunity to make it at Celtic.
“If I had been selfish, I wouldn’t have let him go,” the Celtic manager admitted about Henderson. “I would maybe have kept him at Parkhead because we will maybe need him in the squad towards the end of the season but it is a good chance for him to get experience at a big club with high expectations.
“He can play the whole of June as well and that is what he needs. I think that would be a positive thing if more young players got that experience, I really do. Tony Watt did it, for example.
“You have to learn new things about yourself and be on your own. That can make you grow up and develop as a player.
“There are a lot of good places around Europe where you can go and they take care of players in the right way and develop them in the right direction. Rosenborg is one of them. They have developed a lot of good players in the last 20 years.”
All eyes will be on Henderson at Rosenborg over the next few months, if Celtic have a 20-year-old midfielder with the experience of 100 top team matches all of his potential may be about to be realised in a green and white shirt.
