Watchful eye: Tony Mowbray will give two Australian youngsters the chance to earn contracts with Celtic. Pic: ©SNS Group
James Virgili and Evan Batsis will begin training with Celtic on Monday in a bid to become the latest additions to the club’s growing number of youth prospects. The Australian pair play for Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory respectively in the country’s A-League.
Virgili, 17, became the A-League’s youngest ever debutant as a 16-year-old when he came on for the Jets as a substitute against Wellington Phoenix in January 2009.
A right footed wide midfielder, Virgili is also a member of Australia’s under-20s squad and has contributed four goals at international level from 13 appearances.
Regarded as an exciting talent in his homeland, Virgili, nicknamed Chilli by his team-mates, cites Cristiano Ronaldo as his favourite player and his playing style is akin to that of the Portuguese winger. He represented his country at under-20s level at the World Cup in Egypt in 2009.
Batsis, also 17, is a striker currently signed to Melbourne Victory. A sharp, pacy attacker with strength, he is a graduate of the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Trialists at Lennoxtown have dried up of late since a flurry of prospective signings checked in for training spells with Celtic in December and January.
Sander Puri, Osman Chavez and Hungarian quartet Zsolt Korcsmar, Daniel Kovacs, Matyas Magos and Krisztian Simon were amongst the budding Celtic players who trained under Tony Mowbray’s watchful eye back in December but none of the six were offered terms
Virgili and Batsis’ fellow countryman Adriano Pellegrino, a central midfielder with Perth Glory, was expected for a trial with Celtic back in January but the move fell through at the last minute, with his club eager to keep him in the country to compete in key league games.
