Celtic must rue losing "exciting" gem who's now playing like a £100m star
da dobrowin： Celtic are closing in on a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title and are in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup, with a chance to clinch a domestic treble.
da mrbet： Their ongoing success on the pitch this season has not stopped the club from looking to bolster their squad in the upcoming summer transfer window, though, as they have already agreed to sign Kieran Tierney on a free transfer.
The Scotland international is returning to Parkhead for the first time since his £25m move to Arsenal in the summer of 2019, which made him the most expensive Hoops academy graduate in history.
Most expensive Celtic academy graduate sales
Celtic have produced some excellent players from their academy, as the likes of Andy Robertson, Aaron Hickey, and Ben Doak have come through the youth set-up, but they have not always extracted great value out of their young talents.
Tierney’s £25m move to Arsenal is one of only three sales in the club’s history involving an academy graduate that was worth more than £1.6m, as shown in the table below.
Celtic’s most expensive academy graduate sales
Player
Fee
Kieran Tierney
£25m reported fee
Aiden McGeady
£10.3m
Mikey Johnston
£3m
Craig Beattie
£1.6m
Stephen McManus
£1.5m
Charlie Nicholas
£1.4m
Fees via Transfermarkt & Sky Sports
The Hoops have not been able to consistently produce high-value assets that they have been able to sell for millions, which is something that they may look to improve on in the coming years.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series
Celtic, actually, had an exciting young academy prospect on their hands last season in the form of Rocco Vata, before they failed to convince him to extend his contract at Parkhead, and he left to join Watford for a compensation fee of £250k.
Rocco Vata is now being compared to a £100m talent
The Ireland international scored 23 goals in 34 B team matches for the Scottish giants, but only played three minutes in the Scottish Premiership last season before his exit last summer.
Since joining Watford, Vata has scored four goals and provided three assists in 33 first-team matches for the Hornets in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, and has earned a comparison to a player who has been valued at a whopping £100m.
Oxford City scout and recruitment analyst Hayden on X compared the Irish whiz to Tyler Dibling, suggesting that he would be a suitable alternative to teams interested in the Southampton teen, and that he was “impressed” by the Watford star.
The Saints have reportedly placed a £100m price tag over Dibling’s head, despite the 19-year-old having produced two goals and zero assists in 28 Premier League games this season.
Vata, who talent scout Jacek Kulig claimed has an “exciting” future, has scored three goals, created four ‘big chances’, and delivered three assists in 29 appearances in the Championship for the Hornets, showing great promise at such a young age.
It remains to be seen whether or not Southampton will sell Dibling for £100m or how much Watford would demand for their Irish 19-year-old starlet, but he appears to be on track to be another player Celtic have lost before they could extract maximum value from them.
Related The next Liel Abada: Celtic plotting exciting move for £3m star
Celtic are reportedly interested in signing a star who could be Liel Abada 2.0 fo the club.
1
The Hoops must, therefore, regret not being able to keep hold of him last summer because he is a talented young prospect who could have had an exciting future at Parkhead, given his first-team emergence in the English Championship this term and the comparison to a £100m-rated starlet.