Celtic returned from the last international break of the 2024/25 campaign in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops needed to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to Rangers at Paradise in the last match before the break, and that is exactly what they did against the Jam Tarts.
After conceding three goals against their city rivals, the Premiership leaders kept a clean sheet against Hearts with Viljami Sinisalo making his league debut between the sticks.
Daizen Maeda scored twice and Jota got himself on the scoresheet to secure all three points for the Hoops, who remain 13 points clear at the top of the table.
A potentially underrated positive to come from the match, though, was the return of winger James Forrest, who made his first appearance of 2025 after returning from injury.
He is one of only two academy graduates in the first-team squad, alongside Callum McGregor, as the Hoops have failed to convert most of their best young talents into regular members of their senior squad.
Celtic's most valuable former academy players
Of the five most valuable former Celtic academy players, McGregor is the only current Hoops star and the only regular starter from the academy in the current team – as Forrest is typically an option off the bench.
The most valuable star to come through the youth set-up at Parkhead, as per Transfermarkt, is Liverpool and Scotland left-back Andy Robertson, who is on course to win his second Premier League title this season.
Andy Robertson
Liverpool
£16.7m
Aaron Hickey
Brentford
£15m
Ben Doak
Liverpool
£11.7m
Kieran Tierney
Arsenal
£8.3m
Callum McGregor
Celtic
£5.4m
As you can see in the table above, Robertson, Aaron Hickey, and Ben Doak all play for other clubs, and none of them made more than two first-team appearances for Celtic.
Kieran Tierney, of course, broke through at Parkhead before his move to Arsenal in 2019 and is now set to return to the club on a free transfer this summer, when his contract at The Emirates comes to an end.
Celtic may rue that they allowed Hickey and Robertson, for example, to slip through their grasp at academy level, as neither of them came close to the first-team before they forged careers for themselves elsewhere.
Another, possibly lesser-known, success story from the academy who thrived away from Parkhead is central midfielder Lewis Henderson, who did initially breakthrough at senior level for the Hoops.
Lewis Henderson's breakthrough at Celtic
The teenage ace made eight appearances and scored one goal in the 2013/14 campaign in the Premiership after catching the eye at youth level for the Scottish giants.
Henderson then went on to play for Rosenborg on loan, scoring four goals in 13 appearances, before spending the 2015/16 campaign on loan at Hibernian in the second tier.
The midfield star enjoyed a sensational loan spell with Hibs. He contributed with six goals and a staggering 16 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions that term, as he showcased his ability to make a difference at the top end of the pitch.
Unfortunately, though, Henderson only made ten appearances and played 463 minutes in the Premiership for Celtic under Brendan Rodgers after returning to Parkhead to play in the first-team after his phenomenal loan at Hibernian.
He eventually signed for Serie B side Bari FC in January 2018 for a fee of £115k, despite the Italian club claiming that they were previously quoted a fee of £2m for his services in the previous window, as Rodgers decided to cash in on the midfielder.
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The Hoops allowed the talented young prospect to leave for such a small figure of £115k, only 18 months on from his incredible loan spell that showed plenty of promise, after Rodgers failed to offer him too many opportunities to shine in the senior team at Parkhead.
Liam Henderson's value soared after leaving Celtic
The Hoops may well regret their decision to sell Henderson for just £115k because his value soared in the subsequent years, as he eventually made his way to the Serie A.
After spells in the Serie B with Bari, Hellas Verona, Empoli, and Lecce, Henderson hit his stride in the Serie A for Empoli in the 2021/22 campaign, playing all 38 league matches.
Appearances
38
Starts
23
Goals
2
Big chances created
4
Assists
3
Key passes
38
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish whiz contributed to five goals in 23 starts in the Serie A, creating 38 chances in that time, as he showcased his ability to step forward from midfield to make an impact in the final third.
Henderson, who Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani described as “exemplary”, created three ‘big chances’ in 11 starts, and 25 appearances in the Serie A for Empoli in the 2022/23 campaign, as he played regular top-flight football in both of those seasons.
At the end of that term, FootballTransfers placed his Expected Transfers Value at a whopping €6m (£5.1m) in May 2023, which is a mind-boggling 4,335% increase from the £115k he was worth by the end of his time at Celtic.
Rodgers, may, therefore, have made the wrong call to sell him at the time as Henderson went on to emerge as a player with the quality to play in one of Europe’s major leagues, with his market value soaring as a reflection of that progression in his career.
In the present day, the 28-year-old ace has played 28 matches and provided two assists in the Serie A this season for Empoli and is currently valued at £1m by FootballTransfers, which is still considerably more (769%) than what Celtic got for him.
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The Hoops could have given him more chances to impress in their midfield and either had a capable squad player or a far more valuable asset to sell for significantly more than £115k, which is why they may regret cashing in on him at the start of 2018 for such a small fee.