Chelsea and River Plate are reportedly starting a worrying trend in football academies.
NationalToday report that the pair are close to an agreement which will see them exchange young talent, with Chelsea having “first refusal” on all of River’s young players.
It is, essentially, an extension of BlueCo’s multi-club network that conveniently leaves out the awkward part where one club buys another. Make no mistake, this makes River Plate the world’s new biggest feeder club.
The prospect of Celtic entering any sort of similar agreement – and offers will come, as clubs look to copy this partnership – would be nauseating for any supporter.
Were Celtic right to invest £20 million in Barrowfield with so many academy players leaving?
Celtic’s academy must protect itself
The Hoops’ academy has come in for a fair whack of criticism in recent years, and plenty of it has been justified.
A lack of clear pathways has led to a sustained trend of Celtic’s best young players moving to the Premier League before even signing a professional contract.
READ MORE: Hugh Keevins says Jens Berthel Askou story will ‘please’ Celtic fans
A detailed view of the Chelsea badge
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
MORE CELTIC STORIES
You could argue that Celtic are already essentially in a partnership where English clubs have a clear path to poach their best youngsters.
But, as difficult as it is to believe, things could get a lot worse.
In agreeing to this deal, River have been conned into aiding Chelsea in their bid to monopolise the global football market.
It’s pure, ruthless greed. Chelsea’s own academy has been stellar for two decades now, so stellar that just last week, two of their own youth graduates – Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall – helped Newcastle to a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge having been discarded in favour of flashy signings.
At the heart of this trend is a completely robotic approach to managing young players, whereby only the top 0.1% are trusted with senior minutes, and the rest exist purely as vehicles for making money.
Celtic recently completed developments at the club’s Barrowfield facilities, investing in an academy which has seen success stories prove few and far between in recent years.
This was a positive step by a club which has to ‘get the finger out’ and up its game at academy level, as youth football increasingly moves to the same degree of unfairness as the senior game.
Rate young Colby Donovan’s Celtic career so far.
Send the youngster a message of support!
Colby Donovan makes a pass during Livingston vs Celtic
Celtic’s academy continues to lose talent
Dara Jikiemi’s move to Liverpool looks set to be the latest example of the Hoops’ academy bleeding talent to the Premier League’s benefit.
Ben Gannon-Doak stands as the biggest success story of young players leaving Parkhead for moves down south, by far.
But for every Gannon-Doak, there are plenty more examples of young Celts being discarded by England’s giants, even after excelling at under-21 level.
Despite this, the trend has continued in the last few years: Aidan Borland to Aston Villa, Daniel Cummings to West Ham, Rory Mahady to Leeds… the list goes on.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox