Scottish clubs are exploring the possibility of offering professional contracts to academy players as young as 14, a move aimed at safeguarding their burgeoning talents, reports The Press and Journal.
This initiative seeks to amend the current regulations, which only permit teenagers to sign professional terms from the age of 16.
No club is specifically named in the report, but it does state that Scotland’s top clubs are investigating a potential rule change, so you’d imagine Celtic are part of that.
The proposed change is driven by a desire to better nurture and retain top-tier young talent within the Scottish Premiership.
This strategic move is seen as a response to the ongoing challenge of young Scottish talents being recruited by clubs outside of Scotland for minimal fees.
By securing professional commitments from their promising young players earlier, clubs like Celtic hope to establish a more robust mechanism for talent retention and financial compensation.
The Scottish FA has reportedly been approached to consider ways to implement this significant change in policy, aiming to prevent the loss of young talent abroad for less than their potential market value. However, details regarding the timeline for this proposed adjustment have not been disclosed.
