Why Celtic signing Stoke City’s Mohamed Sankoh will be a good move
According to a report from Football Insider (h/t Express), Celtic have joined Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Everton in the race to sign Stoke City youngster Mohamed Sankoh.
The 16-year-old cannot sign a professional contract with Stoke until he turns 17 later this year. This means any club that secures his services would only have to pay a compensation fee. Cross-border rules would mean Celtic will be able to sign him for as less as £300,000 (h/t Express).
Sankoh is a product of the Sparta Rotterdam academy. He left the Dutch outfit to sign for Stoke City in 2018. Till date, the 16-year-old has featured 16 times for the Potters’ U-18 side, bagging nine goals and assists each. The teenager broke into the Potters’ reserve side as well and has played 8 games, managing a solitary assist.
Celtic, meanwhile, have enjoyed another dominant campaign in Scotland. The Hoops sit comfortably at the top of the Premiership table, with a 13-point lead over bitter rivals Rangers. Neil Lennon’s side also lifted the Scottish League Cup and are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
But for them to continue this dominant streak, strengthening the squad at the first-team level, as well as the youth level, is crucial. Celtic have a number of promising youngsters coming through the youth ranks, with the likes of Karamoko Dembele, Armstrong Okoflex, Stephen Welsh all tipped for bright futures at the club.
And adding someone like Sankoh would serve the Hoops well in the coming years. While Sankoh might not have broken into Stoke City’s senior team, the 16-year-old has impressed heavily with the youth sides.
In the 2019/20 term, the 16-year-old has bagged three goals and four assists in 14 appearances for the reserves and the U-18 side combined.
Sankoh was a part of the Netherlands U-17 side that won the U-17 European Championships last season, despite being just 15 years old at the time. This should provide an indicator of his potential and how highly he is rated.
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Moreover, Vakoun Issouf Bayo hasn’t been able to make the desired impact since joining the club last year, while Odsonne Edouard has also been linked with a summer exit. Hence, adding a young striker who has shown potential, and can provide bench-strength, would be a wise move for the Hoops.
Verdict
Sankoh, at 16, has shown great promise with Stoke City’s youth team as well as the Netherlands’ youth sides. The striker has been compared to Inter Milan ace striker Romelu Lukaku because of his goalscoring record and physical stature (h/t Express).
Hence, adding someone like him would prove to be beneficial for Celtic in long-run.
