Leo Hjelde’s dad, Jon Olav, has spoken about his son’s future and the exciting Celtic future available to the player that John Hughes referred to as the ‘next Virgil Van Dijk’. Speaking to Norwegian outlet T2, Hjelde’s father said that despite reported interest from Southampton, Hjelde was looking forward to returning to Celtic under the new manager.
Hjelde was loaned out to Ross County and under Hughes, the Norwegian is starting to make an impression on the professional game. The former Celtic defender said that his young defender had attributes that made him similar to Liverpool superstar Van Dijk but Jon Olav wasn’t wiling to be drawn into such talk.
“It is flattering just to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. But it must be motivating. He wants to go far. Now he has to keep his feet on the ground and continue working. He has had good development this year. He’s taken steps especially on the defensive side since he came to Ross County. He has looked good, even with the lockdown and the whole package, where he is in the room 20 hours a day.
“There have been several clubs interested (in the past). I do not know how specific it was, but there is a bit of interest when you play in a top league at the age of 17. It will be exciting with Celtic. We do not know who will come in as the new manager. He must be in good shape after the summer break and impress the new manager who has probably not seen him before. If he manages to play for Celtic when he is 17-18 years old, it’s very good.
“I think it’s easier to play for Celtic, where you have the ball 70 percent of the time, than for Ross County. It is a physically tough league where you have to stand up for yourself. It has been the perfect challenge, he has really tried and been thrown to the wolves and fought for his life.”
Celtic poached Hjelde from the Norwegian side in 2019 and he is well thought of within the club, a move to Dingwall has aided his progression and bolstered his chances of becoming a first team player at Celtic down the line. Hjelde made the bench in the 1-1 draw with Hibs at the beginning of the year but he may get an opportunity if a new manager comes in that fancies giving the youngster a run in the team.
According to The Sun, the Norwegian is a target for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Premier League outfit as the St Mary’s club look to prepare for the new season by signing the promising 17-year-old. However, Eddie Howe is still the favourite for the Celtic job and this would be a hugely appealing to a young defender, especially given the reputation that Howe has as a progressive, ball-playing manager.
