PETER Lawwell has insisted that he would tell his own son to stay at Celtic such is his conviction that the Parkhead club is the right place for young players to develop.
Celtic had six players in Gordon Strachan’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifier against England with Kieran Tierney the poster-boy graduate of Celtic’s academy structure.
Michael Johnston and Anthony Ralston also featured in Brendan Rodgers’ senior side in the latter stages of last term with Celtic assuring the immediate future of the former at the club with a three-year contract extension that staved off interest from Chelsea.
Rangers lost 15-year-old Billy Gilmour to the Stamford Bridge side, but Lawell has maintained that the pulling power of Rodgers and the structure at the club gives an assurance to young players that Celtic is a place where they will get their chance to improve.
“If you go somewhere else too early – and we saw this with the likes of Islam Feruz, maybe we’ll see it with Billy Gilmour – it is a big risk,” he said. “The financial attraction is there, you can’t ignore that, but the right advice, unquestionably is to stay here and if it was my own son that is the same advice that I would be dispensing.
“You have Brendan, Chris Davies and Glenn Driscoll who are world-class. There is a stage out there where you can become a player. We are always relaxed. We do not need to sell players.”
And Lawwell also believes that the genuine nature of what Celtic can offer facilitates the process of enticing young players to the club.
There is the obvious reach to relatively local youngsters that Celtic is a club where they can realise their potential but, as shown in recent years, there is also an ability to attract young players already at elite clubs who need exposure to first-team football.
Patrick Roberts has just completed a successful 18-month loan spell, while Moussa Dembele has continued the upward trajectory of his career following his inaugural season at Celtic.
“What makes it easier if you are sitting with a kid, either to keep here or bring here, is that when you really believe what you are saying,” said Lawwell.
“For these kids, it is undoubtedly right for them to come and develop here. It was right for Moussa to come here, it was right for Patrick and it is right for Michael and Anthony who are around it, the next in line to start coming through.
“A big sell for us is the manager because he loves developing players and he has such a strong track record of doing that. Playing here in front of 60,000 supporters, playing in the Champions League, developing a winning mentality and getting a profile is what we can offer young players. They then become marketable and they develop quicker here, no doubt about it.
“The point to players coming here is that Brendan is a big attraction, especially for young players because they can come here and they will get better. The reputation is well deserved that he has.”
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