There's been a lot of news surrounding American players abroad in Europe lately. Josh Sargent recently made his debut for Werder Bremen (and scored a couple goals), Weston McKennie's starting for Schalke in the Champions League and Christian Pulisic confirmed his summer move to Chelsea, to name a few. Now, it's Timothy Weah's turn.
#WelcomeWeah#CelticFC are delighted to announce that @ussoccer_mnt forward, Timothy Weah has joined the club on loan from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of this season.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 7, 2019
Weah is another player that U.S. national team fans hope to see the best out of. Playing for PSG, the American shared the training ground with players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani. Because of PSG’s massive talent in the front three, Weah struggled for game time in Ligue 1. So far this season, Weah had made only two appearances for Les Parisiens — both coming in the first two matches of the season.
To get some first team football, Weah was linked with a few clubs in Germany, France and even Italy. Yesterday, Glasgow giants Celtic announced Weah’s loan signing until the end of the season. This is an excellent move for Celtic.
Coming soon to the #UEL
@ussoccer_mnt forward Timothy Weah!Paris @CelticFC
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) January 8, 2019
Celtic's now without one of its talismanic forwards in Lee Griffiths, who recently took a leave of absence for mental health problems. Griffiths is a tough loss — his pace and finishing ability are almost unmatched in the Celtic squad. Still, Weah is more than ready to fill the void.
“I’ll give it my everything, I play for the crest that is across my heart."#CelticFC's latest signing, Timothy Weah, joined @CelticTV in Dubai for an exclusive interview. pic.twitter.com/DmZ0CjGdEA
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 8, 2019
Weah has good pace, and he's shown promise when playing as a left-forward, but he has more than enough talent to fill the void at center forward in Celtic’s starting lineup. Let’s not forget that Weah is only 18 years old. He has plenty of time to impress Thomas Tuchel at PSG.
While the level of the SPL is lower than Ligue 1, the gap isn’t very big. Besides, the level of the SPL is peripheral to getting game time as an 18-year-old. His move to Celtic will be less about tactical growth, but a growth in technical ability. Once Weah grows more in technical ability to keep up with Cavani, Mbappe and Neymar, then he can work on his tactical awareness with a manager like Tuchel.
Boom, boom, boom... pic.twitter.com/dgh4OtSnGY
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 8, 2019
On the fan side, it’s not just U.S. national team fans who are excited. Celtic fans have certainly expressed their excitement for Weah’s arrival.
— Craig O’Hare (@craigohare99) January 7, 2019
It’s nice to see American players getting more respect across Europe. Go on, Tim!