Celtic have been the dominant force in Scotland for many, many, years and are currently aiming to win their fifth title in succession in the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops have won the league title and a domestic cup in each of the last two seasons, after winning the domestic treble in Ange Postecoglou’s final year at the club.
Since Brendan Rodgers returned to the club to replace Postecoglou in the summer of 2023, Celtic have won two Premiership titles, the SFA Cup, and the League Cup.
One, admittedly minor, criticism you could level at the Northern Irish head coach, though, is that he does not offer too many opportunities to academy and young players within the squad, despite the team’s domestic dominance.
Daniel Kelly (87)
Alex Valle (651)
Colby Donovan (101)
Rocco Vata (3)
Sean McArdle (14)
Jude Bonnar (10)
Francis Turley (1)
As you can see in the table above, no academy player aged 21 or under played more than 87 minutes across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns for the Scottish giants.
However, Colby Donovan has emerged as a genuine first-team option for Rodgers this season, after impressing in the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Why Colby Donovan is a genuine first-team option for Celtic
The 19-year-old academy graduate should be considered a regular option for the first-team moving forward because he has shown that he can deliver in the Premiership.
Kilmarnock away is not an easy game to play. They have only lost five of their 19 home games in the Premiership since the start of last season, and use an artificial pitch.
The Scotland U21 international, who has played 36 times for the club’s B team, adapted to his surroundings fairly quickly after a couple of loose touches early on in the match.
Donovan, as shown in the highlights above, played a crucial role in the winning goal for Celtic with a darting run into the box to tee up James Forrest, whose shot was blocked by an arm to hand Kelechi Iheanacho the chance to score the winner from the spot.
As well as that vital contribution at the top end of the pitch, the 19-year-old right-back also showed that he has the physicality and pace to deal with opposition attackers in the Premiership.
Minutes
90
Clearances
7
Blocks
1
Tackles
2
Ground duels won
3/6
Aerial duels won
4/4
The statistics in the table above illustrate how solid he was out of possession for the Scottish giants, winning 70% of his duels throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch on his full debut in the division.
Whilst this was only one performance, Donovan carried himself as if he had been in the team for years and fully looked the part at right-back for the Hoops, after that nervy start to the game, as mentioned.
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The Scottish right-back is not the only promising young star within the first-team squad, though. In fact, Rodgers may be brewing an even bigger homegrown talent than Donovan in the form of central defender Dane Murray.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales are currently ahead of the 22-year-old titan in the pecking order to start matches, but he was on the bench against Kilmarnock ahead of summer signing Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, which shows how highly the manager rates him.
Why Dane Murray may be a bigger talent than Colby Donovan
The academy graduate has had a long road back to the first-team after suffering two cruciate ligament injuries that kept him out of action for around two years between 2021 and 2023.
Murray had made his debut for the senior side as a teenager against Midtjylland in a Champions League play-off tie in 2021, but those two injuries have set him back in recent seasons.
The Scottish defender spent time on loan at Queen’s Park in the Championship in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns to build his fitness back up, before his return to Parkhead in January of last season.
Since his return to Celtic, Rodgers has given him opportunities to shine in the first-team and the club rewarded him with a new contract last month.
After Murray signed his new deal, the Hoops head coach said: “It’s great for him because he’s a great boy. He’s got a lot of potential. And I think over the next 12 to 18 months, he’s going to really grow.
“His ceiling is so high. There are areas of the game he needs to clearly work on. But he’s 6ft 4in, he’s quick, he can take the ball. He has a comfort with the ball which aligns with top players. Just, concentration is something that’s key for defenders.”
These comments show how highly rated Murray is by the coaching staff and illustrate how complete he is as a player, because the centre-back has all the attributes needed to make it to the very top.
Minutes
90
45
Goals conceded
0
0
Clearances
7
2
Interceptions
1
0
Tackles
3
1
Dribbled past
0x
0x
Duels won
8/13
2/2
Pass accuracy
89%
98%
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old colossus’ performances against Livingston and Kairat this season back up Rodgers’ comments, because he was dominant physically, quick enough not to be dribbled past at all, and incredibly reliable with the ball at his feet.
Murray is capable of turning in complete and impressive performances as a centre-back for Celtic, domestically and in Europe, and could develop into a fantastic and complete central defender for the club.
Donovan, meanwhile, is not a complete right-back because he has only delivered two assists in 46 appearances for Celtic at academy and first-team level combined, per Transfermarkt, which shows that the defender needs to work on the threat that he offers in the final third.
Murray, though, has shown that he can deliver defensively and in possession as a centre-back for the Hoops, and Rodgers has made it clear that he believes the 22-year-old star has a huge ceiling to hit.
Therefore, Celtic may have an even bigger homegrown talent than Donovan in Murray, but it is now down to him to oust Scales from the starting XI to nail down a place next to Carter-Vickers moving forward.