Scottish Premiership giants Celtic were beaten by Championship side Preston North End to the signing of Hartlepool United talent Connor Simpson
Preston North End would have been patting themselves on the back for beating the likes of Celtic, Everton and Newcastle United to 17-year-old striking prodigy Connor Simpson during the January transfer window.
The 6ft 6ins Hartlepool United prospect, who has perhaps inevitably been likened to fellow Geordie-born targetman Andy Carroll, had been watched by scouts from Scottish Premiership giants Celtic.
But, two months and one cameo substitute appearance later, Simpson is already being loaned out by the Lilywhites. And a player who could have been honing his trade under Brendan Rodgers, a manager with a speciality when it comes to developing youngsters, will instead spent the rest of the season with Northern Premier League outfit Lancaster City.
Lancaster are in the seventh tier, two divisions below Simpson’s former club Hartlepool. And while this is no indication that his time at Preston is guaranteed to be a failure, the striker is just 17 and in need of some first-team minutes to hone his potential, it is fair to say this is not the start he would have wanted at Deepdale.
Time will tell, however, whether Celtic would have been the better move.
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