Celtic are enjoying a phenomenal season as they sit 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, are in the play-off phase of the Champions League, and have already won the League Cup.
Youth has not played a significant role in their success, though, as 31-year-old midfielder Callum McGregor is the only academy graduate to have started matches on a regular basis for Brendan Rodgers this term.
The Hoops have not been adept at bringing through academy talent into the first-team in recent years, as they lost Daniel Kelly and Rocco Vata to Millwall and Watford respectively last summer.
Possibly the biggest example of a prodigious talent that got away, however, is Scotland international Ben Doak, who came through the youth set-up in Glasgow before sealing a move to England.
Ben Doak’s untapped Celtic potential
The teenage sensation made his way through the academy ranks at Parkhead before he made two first-team appearances under Ange Postecoglou at the age of 16 in the 2021/22 campaign.
However, the Scottish giants were unable to convince the young winger to remain at the club beyond his contract at the time and Premier League side Liverpool swooped in to secure his services for a reported compensation fee of £600k in the summer of 2022.
Doak racked up ten first-team appearances in his first two seasons with the Reds before being sent out on loan to Middlesbrough, where he has produced three goals and seven assists in 24 Championship matches in the 2024/25 campaign.
These statistics show that the 19-year-old whiz has made a big impact at the top end of the pitch in the second tier of English football, and that indicates that he could have been a great option for the Hoops to have in their current squad.
Liverpool reportedly put a £30m price tag on his head in the January transfer window, amid interest from Premier League side Crystal Palace, which illustrates how much untapped potential there was for the Hoops with the forward.
They missed out on a terrific talent and a hugely valuable asset by failing to convince him to turn down a move to Anfield to stay in Glasgow and compete for a place under Postecoglou.
Doak, who has been capped six times by Scotland at senior level, has quickly developed into an excellent player at first-team level since his move away from the Hoops.
Celtic are now facing an awful repeat of this situation – losing a talented youngster who could go on to great things – as one of their B team stars is set for a move to the Premier League this summer.
Celtic set to lose teen star
According to ExWHUEmployee, on TheWestHamWay’s Patreon, Celtic centre-forward Daniel Cummings is in the process of completing a medical with West Ham United.
The report claims that the Scottish youngster started parts of his medical with the Premier League side on Sunday and that it has continued on Monday, ahead of a summer switch to the London outfit.
Cummings is out of contract at the end of the season and it was reported, in January, that Celtic were due to offer him a new contract to remain at Parkhead on fresh terms.
ExWHUEmployee’s report adds that the Hammers are due to pay a compensation fee for the teenage striker, as he has been trained by the Hoops, but it is unclear as to how much that will be at this point.
It also reveals that West Ham chief Mark Noble, who previously captained the Hammers in the Premier League, was ‘influential’ in convincing the forward to pick a move to the London Stadium.
The Hoops appear to have left it too late to decide to offer the young attacker a contract extension, waiting until the last five months of his deal, and it looks set to sting them as Cummings is now close to a move to England, and it could be an awful repeat of the Doak situation.
Why Daniel Cummings could be Ben Doak 2.0
The former Celtic winger, as aforementioned, has gone on to become a £30m-rated talent who has proven himself at first-team level in the Championship in England, after leaving Parkhead for a paltry £600k.
Whilst it remains to be seen how much compensation West Ham will have to pay for Cummings, the Hoops are not going to get a multi-million-pound sum for the 18-year-old marksman, but he has the potential to become a hugely valuable asset in the future.
The Scotland U19 international has been in incredible form in all competitions for the academy this season, with a staggering return of 25 goals in 28 matches.
Cummings has been a prolific centre-forward for the B team and U19 side, with 19 goals in 20 Lowland League games and six goals in seven UEFA Youth League outings, and was rewarded with a first-team debut against Aston Villa off the bench at the end of January.
|
Daniel Cummings’ Lowland League career |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Appearances |
Goals |
Assists |
|
24/25 |
20 |
19 |
0 |
|
23/24 |
19 |
12 |
0 |
|
22/23 |
10 |
3 |
0 |
As you can see in the table above, the 18-year-old attacker has continually improved his output in the final third season-on-season in the Lowland League for the B team.
These statistics show that Cummings is on an upward trajectory and that is improving as a player each year, which is a promising sign for West Ham as they are set to sign a prolific teen who is just getting better and better.
Whilst there is no guarantee that the young marksman will go on to become a star in the Premier League for the Hammers, or go on to be valued at £30m like Doak, his incredible form and development for Celtic suggests that the potential is there for him to do so.
Therefore, the Hoops are on the verge of an awful repeat of the Doak situation as they could watch Cummings go to England to thrive, instead of convincing him to stay and eventually emerge as a star in the first-team for Rodgers.
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There is a worrying trend emerging of young players deciding that moving down south to develop in England is better for them than staying at Celtic and the Bhoys need to find a way of convincing their best talents that their development is best served at Parkhead if they want to produce quality academy graduates.
