Brentford have made their first signing of the summer after completing a deal to sign Celtic’s Theo Archibald for an undisclosed fee, as confirmed by the club website.
The 19-year-old winger had been seen as a bright prospect in the famed Celtic academy, already being loaned out once to Scottish League One side Albion Rovers while also being a regular for the youth side in the UEFA Youth League. While playing in that notable competition he scored two goals in 11 appearances.
But last month reports emerged that Brentford were in talks to sign Archibald and now those rumours have been confirmed after the Bees completed the deal to sign him, with the starlet penning a three-year deal with the club. And interestingly, instead of joining up with Brentford when the transfer window opens, he will start training with the West London side immediately. This means fans will get a chance to see their new signing in action when Brentford B take on Manchester City on the 15th May.
Following the completion of the signing, Brentford’s Head of Football Operations Robert Rowan said: “It’s been an ongoing process for the last few months with Theo and Celtic so I am very happy that we’ve reached this point and secured Theo on a three-year contract. I know Theo well from my previous jobs at Celtic and the Scottish FA. He’s a driven, professional and committed athlete whom over the last few months our staff have got to know better from a personal and football perspective. It is always important that the people we bring to the Club have the right character and personality and will fit well with the group. I like Theo as a young man and know he is the sort of person who fits our ethos.”
“Theo is an inverted right-winger, he’s powerful, quick, direct and intelligent in possession. Our plan is to do some work with him in relation to our style of play in order to fine-tune some areas of his game, particularly off the ball and align him with how we want to play. He has only just turned 19 so there is lots of development to take place over the length of the contract but the staff are looking forward to working with him to improve. He will join up with his team-mates for training on Saturday and will be available to feature against Manchester City. I would like to thank Celtic Football Club for their support and guidance throughout this signing process.”
