Looking at his performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek, it's difficult to comprehend that only a few months ago, there were real doubts about Liam Scales' future at both club and international level.
At 25-years old, he looked to be at a real crossroads in his career. Things at Celtic had not worked out for him up to that point, with the defender looking as though he would struggle to break into the team two years on from his move from Shamrock Rovers.
From an Ireland perspective, he had yet to make his debut at senior international level and was well behind some of the other options Stephen Kenny had in his position.
All of that seems like a distant memory now.
Scales has been in sensational form this season. After a handful of injuries to other squad members gave him the opportunity to play at Celtic, he has gone on to be arguably the team's best performer in both domestic and European competition. As well as that, he was finally given the opportunity to play for Ireland and made a real case to be a key part of the starting XI moving forward.
Of course, if you had been following the player's career closely up to this point, none of this should have come as a surprise.
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The remarkable trait that has propelled Liam Scales to the top
Liam Scales has certainly taken a somewhat unorthodox journey to reach this point in his career.
Starting out as a youngster at Arklow Town, he would eventually make the move to UCD and then Shamrock Rovers, before finally being given the chance to perform on the biggest stage in his mid 20s. He is a prime example of what hard work and persistence can lead to in football, now thriving despite encountering a number of obstacles along the route up to this point.
It may have taken some time for him to finally fulfil his potential, but that is not to say that his talents were not obvious to see from a very young age.
Lar Mahony first encountered the Celtic player when coached the under-9s team at Arklow Town. Far from the imposing defender he is now, a young Liam Scales had a very different approach to the game.
Speaking to Balls, he recalled how even at that age, there were a couple of things that set him apart from his peers.
He was a tricky left winger! He was a dribbler. As happy as I am for him now, every time I look at him play, all I can see is him driving down the left wing and crossing. I’d love to see him still do that...
That team played in the Wicklow League at that time, teams weren't going up to Dublin. They were very, very dominant in Wicklow at that time. We went and played a year up which wasn't very common back then.
I always remember Liam being able to cope with it quicker, earlier, and be stronger than most of the lads when we made that step up. When we first made it up, we struggled a little bit as is natural. But I can specifically remember Liam not struggling.
There's one very small thing that I always remember, it always sticks out in my mind. I think it was probably the U12 season and I can remember him being on the left wing and picking out people on the right wing. At the time you would not have seen many youngsters do that.
It's funny that that's the one thing that sticks out in my head about him, but it just shows that he had a vision beyond his years at that time.
20 February 2016; Liam Scales, UCD. Pre-Season Friendly, UCD v Finn Harps, Belfield Bowl, UCD, Belfield, Dublin. Picture credit: Seb Daly / SPORTSFILE
In many ways, the point about Liam Scales adapting to the challenges that face him is something that has defined his career so far.
He first starred at UCD, before then impressing after making the move to Shamrock Rovers. That was enough to draw the interest of Celtic, although his time in Scottish football has not always gone smoothly.
Having initially been given some playing time after his arrival in Glasgow, he would soon find himself out of the first team picture at the club. A loan move to Aberdeen would follow, and while he did impress at times at Pittodrie, there were other occasions when he found himself struggling at a club in turmoil.
The most obvious example came back in January. He was part of the team that suffered a humiliating Scottish Cup loss to amateur side Darvel, only to then be sent off in a 6-0 loss to Hibernian a few days later.
Just nine months later, he was the standout performer in a fixture against one of the biggest club in European football as Celtic drew 2-2 in a Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
Liam Scales.
Yet again
👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/TQ6BplyTxc— Highland__Paddy (@Highland__paddy) October 25, 2023
Another game, another quality performance from Liam Scales ☘️
On his way to becoming Ireland’s first choice at centre back 🤫— Luke Delaney (@lukedel4) October 25, 2023
In case you missed it: Celtic excellent in the first half, Atletico excellent in the second. Cracking match all round.
And from an Irish point of view: Liam Scales was outstanding. Again. https://t.co/0CEINRCKft— Mark Rodden (@MRodden) October 26, 2023
In many ways, he takes on each challenge with the same mentality he had when playing alongside his friends a a nine-year old at Arklow Town.
Regardless of the level Liam Scales is playing at, his approach remains the same. That also stood out during his recent international debut, even if Ireland struggled against Greece. He was calm on the ball, defended well, and took the whole occasion in his stride.
It is a mentality that is quite rare in football, one that means his career should only be on an upward trajectory from here.
Lar Mahony said that he sees Liam Scales going to one to reach even greater heights in the years to come, largely down to a very specific trait that he shares with a certain legend of Irish football.
Liam reminds me strangely enough of Roy Keane, because of one specific thing.
I was working with the FAI when Roy was with us and he went over to Nottingham Forest. His characteristic was that the step up was never a problem for him. He was able to go from Cobh Ramblers, he was able to go away and step in to Nottingham Forest. Then he was able to go to Manchester United and step into Manchester United’s team and just play.
In a strange way, that's the similarity I see between him and Liam. Liam has the temperament where no matter what club he ends up playing with, he'll step in and he'll just play away...
This is a strange thing to say. I know he's in Celtic's first team now, but I don't think that's his limit. I think he has the ability to step over and go even further.
I'd like to see him push himself a little bit harder, I’d like to think that he believes that he can do that as well and to play that way.
But I honestly think he has the ability to go higher, and I know that would really offend Celtic fans because Celtic fans have this belief that there's nothing higher than Celtic, but I do think he has the ability to step up again.
Comparisons to Roy Keane are not given out lightly in Irish footballing circles, pointing towards the elite mentality Liam Scales possesses.
His journey may have been a long one up to this point, but having taken every challenge in his stride so far, you get the sense that the story of his career is only now beginning to take shape.
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