In recent months, Celtic have been linked with a move for Andy Robertson. Having grown up a supporter of the Hoops and been in the club's academy system early in his career, it is not hard to see why those rumours have cropped up. He is a Premier League legend who is set to be out of contract in the summer.

But with Kieran Tierney at the club, a move for Robertson does not exactly make sense for Celtic. Giving both of them satisfactory game time would be difficult. It would also further inflate the wage bill in a position where the Hoops are already strong. The money could be better spent elsewhere.

So, do not expect Celtic to make a push to sign Robertson in the summer, even if he is available as a free agent. On the other hand, it is Liverpool who look set to sign one of the Hoops' most highly-rated youngsters instead.

According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool have won the race to sign Dara Jikiemi of Celtic. He has agreed to join the Anfield club on a scholarship.

Jikiemi is one of the most highly rated players in the Celtic academy setup. He is capable of playing not only as a centre-back but in midfield as well.

Of course, this might feel like deja vu to many Celtic fans. Liverpool had also swooped in to sign Ben Doak early in his career. Now, they are set to do the same with Jikiemi.

Then again, it is not hard to understand why Celtic youngsters might be comfortable in leaving the club early in their careers rather than wait for the chance to come around at Parkhead.

Celtic's record of promoting youngsters to the senior team has been abysmal in recent years. The last to make that jump and become a regular starter for the club was Kieran Tierney, which was more than a decade ago.

The issue is that the pressure to win games at Celtic is immense. As a result, managers often find it difficult to give meaningful game time to youngsters, and they do not end up developing.

The pathway for academy players into the first-team simply does not exist at the moment. So, players like Jikiemi are comfortably choosing Liverpool over Celtic.

Of course, chances will be hard to come by at Liverpool as well. But just being there adds value to a player. Just look at Doak, who made only three Premier League appearances for the Reds before making a £25 million transfer move to Bournemouth. Even if things had worked out perfectly at Celtic, that would have pretty much been the ceiling for him.

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