According to the latest reports in the Scottish Sun, Celtic are eyeing a pre-contract deal with Fulham’s 18-year-old midfielder Tyrese Francois. The youngster is in the final six months of his contract and is yet to commit his future with the Premier League outfit. Celtic’s next Europa League opponents Valencia are also in the mix to sign him, and they are confident of luring him to the La Liga. Premier League outfit Crystal Palace’s name is also doing the rounds as one of the interested parties.
The Australian born midfielder has come up from Fulham’s academy and is yet to make a senior team appearance with the Cottagers. Francois has been regular for his side in the Premier League 2. With Fulham fighting relegation, one can understand why Claudio Ranieri is unwilling to experiment at this stage by giving a newbie a run into the senior team.
Celtic have a knack for picking out terrific young footballers, and it seems like they are looking at Francois as a prospect for the future. Celtic apparently won’t have to spend a penny to land him as they can secure a pre-contract move which would see the midfielder join Celtic Park after his contract expires after the end of the ongoing season.
We don’t expect the 18-year-old to have an instant impact in Celtic’s first team and it is likely that the young midfielder might have to bide his time with the reserve squad before coming in contention to start for the first team.
Francois can play anywhere across the midfield, and it would be interesting to see how Rodgers would want to use him if the Hoops agree on a deal with him. The 18-year-old lacks on the physical side, but he makes it up with his technical abilities on the ball.
The youngster has everything to his game which a midfielder needs as he can create chances as well as recover balls. He works hard out of possession and is tenacious in his approach. That is one of the primary reasons why the young prodigy can be deployed in different roles in the middle of the park.
However, with a Spanish top-flight club also in the reckoning, Celtic might find it hard to lure him. A signing like this might not make an immediate impact on the first team but it is always good to have a young pool of players coming in, and Francois would be a decent addition for the future given his talent and abilities.
