Scott Robertson will be a first-team player at Celtic next term after honing his talents on loan at Gillingham, Gills boss Steve Evans has told Kent Live.
Scott Brown cannot go on forever and, with signs of his decline becoming impossible to ignore, it is about time the reigning Scottish champions started preparing for life without their veteran skipper.
Fortunately, Celtic fans can look forward to the emergence of a homegrown 19-year-old who appears to share Brown’s unrivaled ability to dictate the tempo of a game from a deep-lying role.
Robertson looked like a green-and-white clad Frenkie De Jong when marking his Hoops debut with a classy and cultured performance in the Champions League against Cluj a year ago.
When the teenager returns to Paradise, he will have a full season of senior football under his belt thanks to a loan spell south of the border in England’s third tier.
“I cannot give any bigger testament to a kid in Scott Robertson than to say he will play in the Celtic first-team next season,” said Gills boss Evans after the midfielder made his 12th appearance of the season during last night’s 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers.
“He might not play every week but he will play for them (Celtic).
“I know he is very highly thought of by all the coaching staff there. They had a representative at the game and he would have gone away thinking, ‘we have a good player there’, but they know it anyway.
“I thought he played with composure at times, with grit and determination, which is perhaps why they sent him here when three points matter, rather than playing academy games.”
Under-fire Celtic boss Neil Lennon is clearly a big fan, although it remains to be seen if he is still in charge by the time Robertson returns to Celtic in 2021.
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