Celtic move sharply to beat Premiership poachers

Celtic have moved sharply to beat the poachers by signing up the best of their young talent on to long term contracts.

Mikey Miller and Jamie Lindsay are the latest kids to be rewarded with new deals following the contracts signed in recent months by Joe Chalmers, Marcus Fraser, Paul George, John Herron, Robbie Thomson, Callum McGregor and Jackson Irvine.

Last week Dundee United reluctantly agreed to the transfer of Scott Allan to West Brom with Aberdeen preparing for the loss of 17-year-old Jack Grimmer to Fulham.

Compensation or development fees have to be paid out with Aberdeen likely to pick up a tidy £200,000 for the midfielder.

The loss of Islam Feruz prompted lots of on-line despair but those in the know have been well aware of the group of players who have been at the club since primary school age.

In the same way as Celtic lost Feruz to Chelsea Dylan McGeough returned from Rangers with almost everyone at the club happy with that unlikely ‘swap’.

With Premiership clubs required to invest television money in their academy set up paying out two or three hundred thousand pounds is hardly a gamble as they select the best talent from other divisions.

FIFA have put together a compensation package to ensure that payments are made for players under 23 years of age but Aberdeen boss Craig Brown believes that more should be done.

“We have to come up with ways to stop the top clubs in England taking away our best young boys for a pittance,” the Aberdeen boss claimed.

“You cannot blame the lad for being interested in going to Fulham.I worked for the club and I know Billy McKinlay, who runs their youth set-up, very well.Fulham have now made their interest known.

“I spoke to Jack and his mother in an attempt to persuade him to stay, but Fulham want him as well and they are now doing their best to attract him to London.

“What Fulham would end up paying would never make up for all the time, effort and money Aberdeen have put into coaching and developing Jack.It is not just Aberdeen I am worried about here.

“The future of youth development at every Scottish club is under threat if teams in England can just come up and take away our best youngsters for next to nothing.It is something the SFA and SPL need to address urgently.

“We have to come up with ways to stop the top clubs in England short-changing us in this manner.One way to do it is to ensure the payments due for the young players are far more than they are at the moment.”

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