Ireland's young footballing star Rocco Vata has been tipped for big things by Celtic's club captain Callum McGregor.
The 17-year-old is son of ex-Hoops star Rudi Vata and has played for all the Republic of Ireland underage sides.
Vata is eligible to represent Albania through his father (who played for the Albanian national team) and the Republic of Ireland through his grandmother on his mother's side.
The young Celtic star is seen as one of Ireland's most promising underage players.
He's even made his Celtic debut and has also scored for the senior Celtic side.
☘️🇮🇪| Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, has said that Rocco Vata is “showing really good promise” at Celtic
You love to hear it 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/zqmbJOUXfw— IrishPropaganda🇮🇪⚽️ (@IrishPropaganda) February 17, 2023
Vata won't play in Celtic's game against Aberdeen tomorrow due to an ankle injury but has been backed to break into Ange Postecoglou's high-flying side by McGregor.
"He’s hurt his ankle at the minute but he’s showing really good promise in the academy," said the Scotland international.
"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.”
Celtic's game against Aberdeen starts at 3pm tomorrow.
