Callum, Adam and Arrivederci Jose

With 18 months left on his Celtic contract, Adam Montgomery (21) has joined Motherwell on loan until the end of the season.  A loan at Fleetwood Town for the first half of the season was unproductive for the left back, who, as an 18-year-old, manned the defensive fort during Ange Postecoglou’s early weeks in charge at Celtic.

With Celtic scouring the planet for a left back to challenge Greg Taylor, it seems unlikely Adam will return to the fold in any permanent capacity after his loan.  Loans are beneficial for player development at clubs with large squads but sitting on a different bench achieves nothing.

On occasion, such as Callum McGregor’s loan spell at Notts County a decade ago, the player thrives.  Callum returned home and Ronny Deila gave him a platform on which to grow.  A player doesn’t need to make it at Celtic to become a successfully developed youth talent.  Manchester City and Chelsea have an industry harvesting young talent to sell at a profit with barely a minute of preseason action at their parent club.

Everyone who comes through the Celtic ranks until they are 21 should be able to earn a good living from the game at one level.  We need to be able to monetise this route to offset youth development costs.

Arrivederci Jose, sacked by Roma, who sit ninth in Serie A.  He once had greatness and a colosseum full of charm, but there’s a streak to him that is unattractive.  Also, all that feigning of injury back then.  Yip, still too soon.