Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis has confirmed that Celtic beat an unnamed Premier League side to sign Liam Shaw. The 19-year-old has agreed a pre-contract and will join the Glasgow side in the summer with a £300k compensation fee expected to be paid to the EFL Championship.
Pulis, who managed Shaw during his brief stint at Hillsborough, has said that Celtic have sealed a move for a player with enormous potential. As reported by the Daily Record, Pulis confirmed that a Premier League team had enquired about Shaw before the player was alerted to interest from Celtic.
“Liam is a terrific signing for Celtic and Lenny’s done a good job in finding him and taking him to Scotland because lots of people were ringing me up and asking about him.
“I had a Premier League club ring me up to ask about him and I gave them the same answer as I gave everyone else – that he’s a very good player with tremendous potential – so I’d definitely say they’ve pulled off a good signing.”
In recent seasons, Celtic have signed players like Jeremie Frimpong, Lee O’Connor, Jonathan Afolabi and Luca Connell using the cross border rule. Enticing players to a club of Celtic’s stature is one thing but bringing them through the ranks is another. Jeremie Frimpong is the only player that has really made a mark on the first team since arriving from one of the Premier League academies; although it is an emerging market.
Shaw is able to play at centre back and it will be interesting if he is to continue in midfield or the coaches at Celtic look to train him into being a central defender, much like Kris Ajer when he arrived in 2016.
