It probably went under the radar as one of the most surprising moves of the summer, but nobody saw Thomas Robert moving to Aidrie.
He was highly rated in the youth system at Montpellier and there were suggestions that they wanted to keep him, while there was plenty of interest from some big clubs including Celtic.
In the end he opted for first team football in League One, and it’s actually proven to be a wise call as he’s developed and impressed.
It’s reached a point where his manager Ian Murray has admitted that a move to Celtic could be close, so it’s worth looking at what type of player Celtic could be getting.
He’s a classy winger who can play on either wing, while he’s shown for Airdrie that he has the ability to score some spectacular goals so he would be an interesting signing.
His most impressive goal came at the weekend where he opened the scoring direct from a corner:
😯 “Don’t often see that one!”
Thomas Robert, right from the corner!#SPFL | @AirdrieoniansFC pic.twitter.com/fmDeOMpZg0
— SPFL (@spfl) December 28, 2020
He also showed his class a few weeks ago where he was nominated for the SPFL team of the week thanks to another smartly taken goal:
⚽️ #TOTW RM
👤 Thomas Robert🗣️ “He sparkled again on Saturday, including netting a stylish opening goal, as Ian Murray’s men defeated Forfar Athletic 3-1”
Read it 👉 https://t.co/6ZcR2ORlsE#SPFL | @AirdrieoniansFC pic.twitter.com/lHDq3b8kWt
— SPFL (@spfl) November 24, 2020
It might be too much of a step for him to go straight into Celtic’s first team so he might need a loan spell at a slightly higher level for the second half of the season, but he’s certainly highly rated and talented.