Rising Australian Centre-Back Dreams of Joining Celtic

Celtic have been linked to a wide variety of players ahead of the 2025 summer transfer window, and many of them have come through rumors of prospective interest on the team's side. One of the things that has not been as widely reported is players who wish to join the Hoops, and may be able to do so in the near future.

In a recent interview, that type of report did come out, as Australian centre-back Dylan Leonard of Western United would openly praise Celtic and a former player of theirs.

In this interview with aleagues.com, Leonard would share his feelings towards the Scottish club, his history watching them, and his ultimate desire to one day play for them:

“It’s everything. It’s probably part of the reason I started playing and have worked so hard in my football career so far, is watching games with my family, going over with my cousins, watching Celtic play."

Leonard apepars to have drawn inspiration from former Celtic centre-back, Kristoffer Ajer, to help with his own game. He said:

“They were players (I modelled my game on) genuinely based off what my dad had told me. I watch a lot of Celtic certain players like Kristoffer Ajer when he was at Celtic and the way he used to drive in.
That’s something I took out of his game, and I wanted to implement that into my own game, like being a centre-back, that when team step back, can step in and can play forward, can change the game."

Leonard is very clear about his goal of playing for Celtic someday and, hopefully win, something with the club:

“That’s probably one thing I want to achieve in football is play for Celtic. Win something with Celtic obviously, but that’s definitely the one thing I want to do, the one club I want to play for.”

He would be an intriguing addition for Celtic, who could most definitely use some depth in defence as they look to start preparing for change there eventually. Adding players who love the club is no doubt a benefit, as we saw with Luke McCowan, who continues to do everything he can to help the team.

Leonard has received substantial playing time this season, as in 24 matches he has 2,062 minutes played, with a goal and an assist to his name. He is a starter for Western United and this gives him solid experience for a 17-year-old defender. While a move may not be on just yet, if he continues to improve so rapidly, Celtic could look to make a transfer move for him in the next few seasons.