Theo Archibald has swapped Celtic for the Championship and Brentford without even making his Scottish Premiership debut.
Robert Rowan used to scout players for Celtic but these days he is enticing one of their most talented youngsters away from Parkhead.
As reported by the Daily Record, Championship club Brentford have completed the signing of 19-year-old Hoops winger Theo Archibald on a three-year contract with head of operations Rowan the driving force behind the deal.
The surprise, however, is how ready Celtic appeared to let the teenager go. Archibald’s Celtic career amounted to little more than 15 minutes of fame when his stunning solo goal in a UEFA Youth Cup clash with Manchester City broke the interned north of the border.
And Rowan clearly believes Brentford have a star of the future on their hands. Celtic’s loss…
“I know Theo well from my previous jobs at Celtic and the Scottish FA. He’s a driven, professional and committed athlete,” the 26-year-old former Hoops scout said in quotes reported by the Daily Record.
“Theo is an inverted right winger, he’s powerful, quick, direct and intelligent in possession. He has only just turned 19 so there is lots of development to take place over the length of the contract but the staff are looking forward to working with him to improve.”
If he does indeed hone his undoubted potential at Griffin Park, Celtic may well be left rueing why they did not give him a chance in the first-team.
After all, Brendan Rodgers has been more than willing to hand the likes of Anthony Ralston and Michael Johnstone opportunities of late but Archibald’s first-team outing was not forthcoming, shunted out to Albion Rovers on loan instead in January.
Ironically, a figure from Celtic’s past may have taken away a star of their future.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
