Devlin predicts "inquests" after huge Celtic development, Postecoglou will be fuming - opinion

Kieran Devlin has dropped an update on Ben Doak’s potential departure from Celtic.

Following James Pearce’s recent post on Twitter, in which the journalist claimed that Liverpool are closing in on the signing of the highly-rated central midfielder, Kieran Devlin subsequently provided an update on the 16-year-old’s future on Monday afternoon, with the Celtic correspondent appearing to suggest in his own post on Twitter that Doak does indeed look set to sign a professional contract with the Premier League outfit.

In his post, Devlin said: “There will be inquests after yet another academy prospect leaves so soon, but I do think in this specific case Liverpool’s pitch was too strong to match even the most generous first-team pathway. Not that that lessens the pain of losing such a huge talent.”

Considering just how talented a prospect Doak clearly is, in addition to the fact that Celtic have an extremely poor record in keeping hold of their most promising youth prospects, the news that the 16-year-old looks set to secure a move to Liverpool is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss handed the teenager his first-team debut in the 1-0 Premiership victory over Dundee United earlier this season, as well as giving the midfielder his first taste of an Old Firm derby in the 3-0 win over Rangers in February – clear signs that the Greek-Australian coach has extremely high hopes for the academy prospect.

However, despite a clear path to the first-team being laid in front of Doak, it nevertheless appears as if Celtic are set to lose the Scotland U17 international to Liverpool on a free – a feeling Celtic know all too well.

Indeed, the likes of Josh Adam, Connor McBride and Liam Morrison have all