Chelsea’s Charly Musonda learning the hard way that Celtic move would’ve been beneficial

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Celtic tried to sign Charly Musonda from Chelsea in the summer – but the Belgian wonderkid wanted to stay at Stamford Bridge.

If a young Premier League prospect is wondering whether or not to take up the chance to join Celtic on loan, consider the progress made by Patrick Roberts in just 18 months north of the border.

He arrived at Celtic as a skinny, unproven 18-year-old with potential as raw as Dracula’s steak. However, he returned to The Etihad this summer a more mature and efficient winger, one whose tally of 11 goals and 19 assists helped Celtic to an unbeaten domestic treble.

Roberts has since returned to Parkhead on another loan, desperate as he was to continue his development under Brendan Rodgers.

And Charly Musonda could be forgiven for watching on with envy as Roberts prepares to take on Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the Champions League while already making headway on a third straight league title.

The Mail reported earlier in the summer that Celtic were hopeful of landing the 19-year-old Belgian winger on a season-long loan to Stamford Bridge – only for Musonda’s brother to claim, via Instagram, that he was only focused on Chelsea for the upcoming campaign (Daily Star).

There’s little doubting Musonda’s quality. He is one of the jewels of Chelsea’s sparkling academy and has already proven himself at senior level, terrorising La Liga defences during a dazzling loan spell with Real Betis during the second half of 2015/16 and putting himself on the verge of a call-up to the senior Belgium team.

Needless to say, however, young players do not often get the chances they deserve at Chelsea. And though Musonda did finally make his long-awaited Premier League debut this season, it came just seconds from the end of the opening day defeat to Burnley.

Therefore, another season of reserve football beckons for Musonda while Roberts, a player of the same age, position and ability, continues to improve in the green and white of Celtic.