PSG, USA Forward Timothy Weah Completes Loan Move to Celtic

Paris Saint-Germain forward Timothy Weah has completed his loan move to Celtic, the Scottish club confirmed Monday.

“Timothy’s a young talent who is a full international player," Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said in the club release. "He has a long career ahead of him but he has those natural attributes in terms of his pace and technique. He’s hungry too.

“He’s been in the PSG squad and featured for them in pre-season. With the quality of players they have, it’s difficult for him to get in and get any game time. They wanted him to go out on loan and saw Celtic as a great possibility.

“He has really good qualities technically, and tactically is always improving his game. Physically he’s very good, very fast and is a strong player. He’ll add competition to the squad.”

The 18-year-old son of former PSG and AC Milan ace George Weah has been limited to a single start in Ligue 1 this season, and he scored his only goal as a substitute against Caen.

Here is a look at that goal:

A temporary departure from the French champions was always likely, with Weah chasing more regular playing time.

Already a full U.S. international, Weah is regarded as a top talent, blessed with the physical tools that made his father such a feared attacking weapon. He's capable of splitting out wide or playing as a central striker, and while his body is still developing, he's already deceptively strong in duels.

Robin Bairner broke down the prospect for Scottish newspaper the Herald:

Here are some of his highlights:

Odsonne Edouard is Celtic's top scorer in the Scottish Premiership, but the former PSG man has seen his scoring rate fall dramatically in the past two months. Injury setbacks have played their part, and some added depth is sorely needed.

Celtic share the Premiership lead with Rangers and sit just one point ahead of Kilmarnock, with this year's title race shaping up to be the closest in years. The addition of a top talent like Weah should help their cause, even if the teenager hasn't played all that much this term and is relatively untested at the senior level.

This loan will give the youngster the chance to take the next step in his development, giving him a better chance at gaining significant minutes. He was never likely to play much in Paris behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, and he faces much less competition in Glasgow.

Celtic have found ample success with French players in the last few seasons―Edouard, Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham come to mind―and Weah is in a great position to continue that trend.

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