The name may sound like a Christmas left overs recipe from the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ cookbook, but in fact Bailey Rice is a Scottish footballing wunderkind/wonderkid (delete as appropriate I’m never sure which term to use) and the Motherwell breakthrough artist is apparently attracting the interest of Celtic – and no doubt in turn Bayern Munich and Manchester City once they get wind there may potentially be a player in Scotland under the age of 16, they’ve not yet pilfered from Scotland.
A Daily Record report claims the Hoops have already ‘started talks and tabled offers’ with the Lanarkshire club but also advise – as always – that theRangers and an unnamed EPL side have also noted their interest in the Scotland Under 17 cap.
Rice is a central defender who can also operate in midfield is not due to turn 16 until later in the year – and only when he does so will he be able to sign terms as a professional. The report also claims the ’Well will be looking to include financial add-ons to any deal to make up for the loss of compensation they would normally get for a young player had they been under contract.
Whilst it’s always good to see Celtic linked with young up and coming stars – and Motherwell have certainly built up a fine reputation with the likes of David Turnbull and Allan Campbell coming through their ranks in recent times – Celtic’s own reputation for being a suitable destination for young players to make a first team breakthrough have been hamstrung in recent years.
A lack of designated pathways manager or tailor-made pathway plans for the individual players, has seen players like Liam Morrison, Josh Adam, Barry Hepburn and most recently Ben Doak all head to clubs with a great deal more organisation and investment in the future of emerging talents.
Without a Director of Football in place it is difficult to see if anyone takes responsibility for managing the development of these young players from youth levels to B-Team, intermediate loan deals and on to the first team. Although perhaps Ange Postecoglou’s personal involvement in the B-Team landscape may well indicate the manager recognises something needs to be addressed at the lower age levels.
Whether that responsibility should sit with the first team manager is open for debate, but at least it seems someone is recognising the status quo wasn’t working and is seeking to address a long-standing problem.
Whether Bailey Rice is to become a Celtic player seems very much up in the air at the moment, but if he does so – much like we also must do with the youngsters already in place at the club – Celtic will need to ensure they have a plan tailored to the individual player, rather than the one size fits all approach that has been in place for far too long.
Niall J
The club definitely needs to stop buying up young talent just for the sake of it. We’ve seen a plethora of supposedly highly rated younger players sign on with us over the years, only for them to fade into obscurity; if we’re making a move for young players, they need to be exceptional, capable of realistically challenging for first team places!