Celtic snap up Ireland under-19 star Jonathan Afolabi following Southampton release

Republic of Ireland under-19 star Jonathan Afolabi has capped off a dream summer by joining Celtic on a free transfer.

The Tallaght native travelled to the European Championships in Armenia last month without a club after being released by Southampton.

Afolabi, who played underage football with Shamrock Rovers and St Joseph's Boys, was one of the stars of the tournament.

He was the only member of Tom Mohan’s squad named in the UEFA team of the tournament as Ireland reached the semi-finals.

The striker scored a blistering solo goal in the 2-1 win over the Czech Republic that sealed a place in the final four but missed out on the semi-final after picking up a yellow card suspension.

The 19-year-old, who will go into the development side at Celtic along with underage teammate Luca Connell, who made the move from Bolton Wanderers earlier this summer.

"He’s a young lad from Southampton, we’ve signed him on a free transfer and he’s one for development,” Neil Lennon told the Scotsman.

"He’s on the cusp, so he’ll come in and train with us and we’ll get a good look at him in a couple of weeks.

"Then we’ll decide what we want to with in terms of where his progression is. He had a great tournament in the Euros. He’s raw, but we feel he has good potential."