Celtic officially confirmed that captain Callum McGregor put pen to paper on a new five-year contract with the Scottish giants earlier this week.

The 30-year-old central midfielder has been with the club since the age of nine, when he joined the academy, and has won 20 trophies at Parkhead, including a world-leading five trebles.

McGregor should be an inspiration for players coming through the youth team set-up in Glasgow as he has proven what can be accomplished if you put your head down and remain loyal to the Hoops throughout your career.

He is not the only academy graduate in the first-team squad, though, as right-back Anthony Ralston has played 85 senior matches since breaking through.

The Scotland international, who enjoyed three loan spells away from Paradise before making his mark at Celtic, has made 44 Scottish Premiership appearances since the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers is seemingly using pre-season to see if he can spot the next talent to emerge from the youth team as the likes of Josh Dede, Daniel Kelly, Mackenzie Carse, and Bruno Davidson have all been spotted training with the senior group.

What position does Josh Dede play in?

The 17-year-old prospect previously played as a right winger but is now predominantly deployed as a right-back, with the Celtic's official website having him down as a defender.

Journalist Lewis Laird claimed that the full-back has an "exciting future" ahead of him in the game, which is backed up by his emergence for the B team in spite of his young age.

Manager Tommy McIntyre stated at the end of the 2021/22 campaign that the talented gem has a "big future" and said that Dede, along with his teammates, will play if they are good enough, irrespective of their age or experience.

The right-back seemingly did enough to convince his coach that he was good enough to play for the B team as the teenage prodigy racked up 15 Lowland League appearances, which means that the youngster has played men's football in the fifth tier of the Scottish pyramid.

Only 16-year-old Corey Thomson played in 15 or more matches below the age of 17, with a number of 18 and 19-year-old starlets competing for positions across the team, which highlights how impressive Dede's emergence in the side was.

The 17-year-old battler has also done enough to become a regular for Scotland at U17 level, with 11 caps since his debut in March of last year, which shows how highly he is rated by his coaches on the international scene.

His form for the academy has clearly caught the eye of Rodgers as the Northern Irish tactician has brought the promising defender into the first team for pre-season training, potentially with a view to using him in one of the friendlies to see how he fares in a senior environment.

Therefore, the Celtic head coach could unearth the club's next Ralston as Dede is an emerging right-back who could make the step up if he is able to continue his development in the months and years to come, given his impressive progression so far.