Celtic starlet completes permanent transfer to English Premier League club

Highly-rated Celtic academy starlet Evan Easton has decided his future lies in England after signing for Premier League outfit Sheffield United.

The promising defender, who joined the Hoops youth ranks in 2020, never made a first-team appearance for the Scottish champions. He featured once for Celtic’s B-team last season, making a substitute appearance in the UEFA Youth League against Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 18-year-old has represented Scotland at various youth levels and can play as a defensive midfielder as well as at centre-back. Easton will now link up with the Blades’ Under-21 squad and made his debut against Cardiff City earlier today.

It marks the latest departure from Celtic’s underperfoming academy, with Easton now part of a growning list of young talents who have made the move south of the border before ever making a mark at senior level.

Why are Celtic struggling to retain young talents?

Celtic have a history of adding talented youngsters to their academy set-up in the hope that they will develop into future first-team stars and eventually move on for much bigger transfer fees. That is a strategy the club have adopted for a lenghty period of time.

There have been a few success stories in recent memory, with current Hoops captain Callum McGregor, Stephen Welsh and Anthony Ralston now central figures at senior level, while winger James Forrest is the longest serving player and is the most successful graduate in the club’s history.

However, the Scottish champions have had a difficult time of keeping hold of their most talented youngsters progressing through the youth ranks. Ben Doak, Aidan Borland and Josh Adam have all been lost to big-spending clubs down South in recent years.

Celtic will know they can’t continue to let players of immense talent slip through their fingers time after time. Perhaps a number of youngsters have viewed the lack of success stories in recent times who have gone to to establish themselves as first-team regulars has impacted their decision to head elsewhere to make that breakthrough.