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Celtic lost talented midfielder Aidan Borland to Aston Villa due to their decision to not make the youngster part of a matchday squad against Rangers, according to The Athletic.
Borland, who was born in Glasgow, was part of Scottish giants Celtic’s academy system and is highly rated in Scotland.
The 17-year-old featured heavily for Celtic’s academy side and he caught the attention of Villa’s scouts with his performances and continued development.
Aston Villa were keen on securing the signature of the talented youngster, but his family being Celtic fans appeared to be an obstacle in their way.
The Premier League side expressed an interest in signing Borland to Celtic in August 2023 and Villa were keen to bring him to Birmingham.
Aware of Aston Villa’s interest, Celtic decided to leave Borland out of a matchday squad for their game against rivals Rangers.
It was a decision Celtic might come to regret, as it proved decisive in Aston Villa’s attempt to secure the signature of Borland.
Competition Games Goals Assists
Premier League 2 17 – 2
UEFA Youth League 7 1 1
EFL Trophy 3 – –
FA Youth Cup 3 – –
EFL Cup 1 – –
Aston Villa used the situation to convince the midfielder to join them and he signed a professional contract with Unai Emery’s side in 2024.
Borland made his debut for Aston Villa against Wycombe Wanderers back in September in the EFL Cup third round game and he has trained with Emery’s first team on several occasions.
The 17-year-old former Celtic talent captained the Aston Villa side during their UEFA Youth Cup games and there is a belief among the club hierarchy that he will soon break into Emery’s first-team squad.
Borland has featured regularly for Aston Villa Under-18 side this season and they are also in the FA Youth Cup semi-final where they are set to face Manchester United’s development side on Monday to secure a place in the final.
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INSIDE FUTBOL SAYS:
Celtic have lost a host of young starlets to Premier League outfits in recent seasons and Aidan Borland, who is considered a future Scottish national team prospect, could be someone they regret missing out on. The Scottish giants will need to reconsider their approach in their youth set-up to keep hold of their talented players in the future.
Aston Villa, however, have been prolific with their scouting network in identifying young players and have been quick with their attempt to seal the signature, which the Borland deal is an example of.
The next step for the 17-year-old will be securing first team minutes and the best possible way to get regular football will be to go out on loan.