The spiralling decline of Celtic’s youth development

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·6 February 2026

The spiralling decline of Celtic’s youth development

The spiralling decline of Celtic’s youth development…

A view of Celtic Park Celtic v Falkirk, Scottish Premiership, Football, Celtic Park, 01 February 2026. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO / Shutterstock

There are many things wrong within our club at the moment but here I want to concentrate on just one area and that is youth development to produce first team Celtic players.

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Like most structures the rot starts at the top, and in our case the trail starts with our major shareholder who has an abundance of wealth but would rather spend his time on the golf course, relying on his incompetent board members to run affairs in his absence but always following his orders.

And whilst they make a pretty penny for themselves and the absent landlord, they have let standards slip on the place that matters, which is of course on the pitch.

Callum McGregor of Celtic reacts during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on February 01, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The glaringly obvious problem is our abysmal record at recruiting the right quality of players, and our lackadaisical approach in getting deals over the line, something that has come to a head in the past few transfer windows and will only continue to get worse if we don’t freshen things up and get our act together. That means getting rid of the shysters currently in power in the corridors of Celtic Park.

Another area of our club that’s endured a spiralling decline not just recently, but the past decade is that of our youth development system, and our lack of success at rearing and nurturing young talent that benefits the first team.

Celtic once upon a time where known for their ability to produce superb talent that could compete in the first team not just at Celtic, but for clubs who perform at a much higher level. From back in the days of the Lisbon lions, who were crowned kings of Europe, with eight of the starting eleven having been nurtured through the youth ranks.

Kenny Dalglish goes up to lift the Scottish Cup after the 1-0 win over Rangers in the 1977 final. It would be his last trophy win as a Celtic player

Then there was the famous quality street kids that produced arguably some of Scotland’s greatest ever players in Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain, alongside other superb talent such as Lou Macari, Davie Hay, George Connelly and Paul Wilson.

Celtic v Hibs, 22 January 1983. Paul McStay (8) rushes to congratulate Celtic goalscorer George McCluskey (10).Photo The Celtic Wiki

The 1980s saw the rise of the sublimely talented Charlie Nicholas and one of the greatest players in the club’s unbroken history, the maestro himself Mr Paul McStay. The lesser talented but ever dedicated Peter Grant also became a mainstay in a side that also included legendary names such as Roy Aitken and Tommy Burns who broke through the youth ranks in the late 1970s.

The 1990s were a dark period on and off the pitch for the club, and we produced no young talent of note. But after Fergus McCann saved the club and rejuvenated our fortunes, our grassroots level started to pick up again in the late end of the decade into the start of the millennium, with the likes of Mark Burchill, Shaun Maloney, Stephen Crainey, Jamie Smith, Liam Miller, John Kennedy, David Marshall and Aiden McGeady all making the breakthrough and contributing to the first team under Martin O’Neill, which was no easy task considering the talent we had to choose from.

John Kennedy and Stephen McManus sign for Celtic as 14 and 15 years olds in February 1998. John Kennedy became the youngest ever Celt when Kenny Dalglish gave him his debut in April 2000 against Motherwell in a 4-0 win at Celtic Park

Even after the departure of Martin O’Neill the likes of David Marshall, Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney continued to star under Gordon Strachan, joined by the likes of Stephen McManus who would become club captain, whilst players such as Craig Beattie and Darren O’Dea also made the grade as the club excelled not just domestically, but on the European front also.

John Kennedy would also have been on that list had he not been plagued by the horrific knee injury that eventually ended his promising career.

James Forrest and Bobby Lennox at Celtic Park. Photo Celtic FC

Presently we have the most decorated player in the clubs history in James Forrest who was nurtured by the club, as was current skipper Callum McGregor, and returning homegrown hero Kieran Tierney, all players of undoubtedly ability who continue to contribute to our success.

Sadly today we have no one of note making the grade, with only young Colby Donovan offering us hope in that aspect.

Ben Doak and Greg Taylor of Celtic celebriate victory after the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at on February 02, 2022. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Other talent that broke through throughout the last decade, and gave us hope such as Karamko Dembele who failed to live up to the hype whilst the likes of Daniel Kelly, Rocco Vata, and Ben Doak were tempted by the riches on offer down south.

Even players who are threatening to make the breakthrough are tempted by the money fame and stardom on offer down south, and depart before they can fully become involved with the first team, and sadly there’s nothing we can do about that. Or is there?

Brexit has had an impact on clubs like Celtic retaining our top young players because the Premier League, with all of its money, is now prevented from sourcing young talent inside the European Union. Before that Scotland voted Yes then Scottish clubs like Celtic would be in a tremendous position in many ways, including being the base for young talent wanting to develop in Britain before being able to move to England.

Barrowfield from above. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Maybe better facilities and coaching at grassroots level is needed. Better persuasion and financial incentives to hang on to our young talent, can only go so far and pound for pound the money on offer south of the border blows Scottish teams, including Celtic out of the water.

One thing is for sure, we need to up the ante if we want to produce any more homegrown talent who can improve the starting XI and squad as a whole. This may well be James Forrest’s last season. Callum McGregor maybe has a few years left in his legs and by that time Kieran Tierney is going to be hitting thirty.

Longer term this is a massive concern for Celtic.

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