While money will still be a big factor for a player when deciding to move to a new club, it’s starting to sounds like other things are having an impact.
Specifically for a young player, they need to know that a club will give chances to their youngsters, while having recent examples of players who have improved immeasurably will also be attractive.
A recent report from Football Insider has looked at Celtic’s interest in Stoke City youngster Mo Sankoh, and Alex Bruce has strongly urged him to make the move to Glasgow.
Bruce said: “Ultimately it’s all about the pathway – you’ve got to look at who’s ahead of you, what ages they’re at, are you better than them?”
“If a player’s going to move, my advice is to go somewhere or stay somewhere where you’re going to play and make a reputation for yourself. If he’s that good, the big boys will come calling.”
“The one thing you don’t want to do is go to a team where your pathway’s blocked. You’re always better playing. We’ve seen the kind of reputation these guys have developed at Celtic – the likes of Edouard, Dembele, young lads who have gone and earned a decent reputation.”
“The only way you can do that is by playing games and if you’re up there and you can play for a big club like Celtic, play in the big competitions and prove your worth, it’s only going to do his stock the world of good.”
There’s no doubt that Celtic are gaining a reputation as a club that actually develops and improves youngsters by giving them a chance, while the prospect of winning trophies and playing in Europe has to be attractive as well.
It’s clear that a lot of elite clubs aren’t giving those chances to players and it means that youngsters are looking for new clubs when they start to become ready for first team football, so Celtic could benefit from this a lot in the upcoming years.
It’s not clear how good Sankoh could be, but he certainly could be an exciting signing if a deal can be done.
