When then-Celtic boss Neil Lennon made a summer trip to North Wales back in 2019, he did not do to solely to to check out the picturesque views of Connah’s Quay.
That was a bonus, of course. But Lennon’s July visit was made with a footballing angle in mind.
According to the Scottish Sun, the Northern Irishman was in the stands to watch a highly-rated teenage centre-half in the flesh as Connah’s Quay suffered a 1-0 defeat to Serbian outfit Partizan Belgrade in their UEFA Europa League qualifier.
A highly-rated teenage centre-half by the name of Strahinja Pavlovic.
And when the news of Celtic’s interest was made known to the much-coveted 18-year-old, Pavlovic was quick to express his admiration.
“I was flattered when I heard about Celtic watching me,” he said, via the Daily Record.
Celtic eyed Strahinja Pavlovic while at Partizan Belgrade
Now, while no Hoops supporter would be too keen to see their beloved club as something of a ‘stepping stone’, the nature of the modern game means that clubs of Celtic’s stature have become a useful launch pad for young players with ambitions of reaching the heights of the European game.
And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
See Virgil van Dijk; exceptional in Scotland, now a Premier League and Champions League winner with Liverpool.
Jeremie Frimpong was a key cog in Xabi Alonso’s Bundesliga-storming Bayer Leverkusen machine too, while Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele also secured themselves big-money moves to high-profile clubs in one of Europe’s major leagues.
Whether Pavlovic would have followed in their footsteps in Glasgow is anyone’s guess. The now-23-year-old has certainly never been short of ambition.
“My favourite clubs in Europe are Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United,” Pavlovic added back in 2019. “My ambition is to play for one of those teams one day.”
Flash forward five years, however, and Pavlovic has taken a rather tricky path to prominence.
Premier League interest in £25 million man
Pavlovic would join Monaco instead just one year after Lennon watched him in person. But, after things went sour in France, the 6ft 4ins stopper swapped the Principality for Austria when Red Bull Salzburg came calling.
If Celtic have proven themselves to be pretty effective at setting ambitious young players on their way to the top, then Salzburg are the absolute masters of the craft.
HITC understands that, after two excellent seasons at the taurine-powered club, Pavlovic is now in line for a potential £25 million move that would see him follow in the footsteps of Sadio Mane, Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai and co.
What is it they say about Red Bull giving you wings?
HITC understands that a host of clubs on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall are in the mix. Chelsea, Aston Villa and Newcastle United, for instance. Fulham, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Brentford too.
There is also admiration for Pavlovic at Atalanta, AC Milan and Frimpong’s Leverkusen side, with Salzburg hoping to bring in 30 million euros for a player who – when he caught the eye of Celtic right at the start of his career – could have been snapped up for less than £5 million.
But if Pavlovic does end up starring at centre-half for one of Europe’s major clubs in the near future, few will remember how he got there. That difficult spell at Monaco. Those loans at Cercle Brugge and Basel.
Neil Lennon, however, may always look back his trip to Connah’s Quay and wonder what might have been.
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