Celtic youngster Jack Aitchison has praised the impact of new Celtic technical coach Kolo Toure.
Toure played for just one year at Parkhead but won the Premier League with both Manchester City and Arsenal, and the Hoops young striker has claimed that his experience is rubbing off on Celtic’s youngsters.
“I speak to a lot of the first-team players,” Aitchison said in the Scottish Sun, “but Kolo is probably the biggest help.”
“He trained with Thierry Henry so he’s been trying to tell me what he used to do and the movements he’d make.
“He was unbelievable. I wouldn’t mind following in his footsteps with the way he played and the way he scored goals.
“I’ve spoken to him a couple of times about Arsenal, the Invincibles and players like Robert Pires.
“He told me they were all brilliant trainers who didn’t just do it in games. Training is a big part of it too.
“You have to show the manager what you have got if you want to have a chance to play games for the first team.”
Aitchison has broken the Scottish giants first team, registering three cameo appearances and scoring in Celtic’s 7-0 win against Motherwell back in May 2016.
However, Aitchison has yet to make a first-team appearance this season and will be hoping Toure’s influence can help get him into Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers’ long-term plans.
F/W’s view
Kolo Toure has a lot to offer Celtic and his the Ivorian experience at the highest level will hopefully prove invaluable to the talented youngster currently looking to ba a part of the future with Rodgers’ side. For Aitchison, a Gunner fan, it’s obviously inspiring to get advice from someone who played with the stars he grew up admiring.
The 17-year-old scored on his debut for Celtic when he was just 16 but hasn’t been trusted in the senior team set-up yet this season. Aitchison obviously has a lot to offer and former Arsenal defender’s right that the best players don’t just do it in the games and Aitchison is going to have to impress on the training pitch if he wants a shot on the big stage.