It's an exciting time for Irish football, with huge Irish-eligible prospects popping up in the League of Ireland and in British football - and Rocco Vata of Celtic is among the most exciting of all.
The 17-year-old Glaswegian is eligible to play for Ireland through his maternal grandmother, and made his call to declare for the Boys in Green early, playing at international level as early as U-15s through to U-19.
Having come through the academy at Celtic, he has begun to earn first-team opportunities, making his Scottish Premiership debut off the bench against Hibernian in December, after working his way into first-team training.
An ankle injury sustained against Wolves in the Premier League International Cup youth team competition has kept Vata sidelined since mid-January - but club captain Callum McGregor has issued some high praise for the Irishman, and says he hopes to see him back with the first team soon.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor heaps praise on Rocco Vata
Rocco Vata has piqued the interest of some of Europe's biggest clubs with his potential brimming through every performance for Celtic's youth teams.
13 October 2021; Rocco Vata of Republic of Ireland with his father, former Celtic and Albanian footballer Rudi, and his mother Anne Frances after the UEFA U17 Championship Qualifying Round Group 5 match between Republic of Ireland and Poland at Turner's Cross in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
His form had been enough to earn him a place in the first-team squad ahead of his ankle injury, and captain Callum McGregor was certainly impressed with what he saw from Vata.
Speaking as a former Celtic academy graduate at a media day this week, McGregor knows more than most what it takes to make it on the green half of Glasgow, and he said he hopes to see Vata recover soon and work his way back into first team contention:
He's hurt his ankle at the minute but he's showing really good promise in the academy. He's scored a few goals for the B team, which is great.
That's what we want to be pushing as many academy products on as we can, trying to expose them to the first team as much as we can as well and getting them to that level where they can step into the team.
Rocco has been around the first team since pre-season and he's done great, so hopefully he can recover from his injury.
It's great to see the guys coming, pushing and training with the first team. If we can try and get as many academy products through into the first team, I believe it gives the club a great base moving forward.
With the likes of Evan Ferguson and Michael Obafemi growing in prowess week-in-week-out, and the likes of Nathan Collins working to solidify their Premier League stature, it is an exciting time to be an Irish football fan, and having Rocco Vata on the books will only add to the excitement in the coming years.
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