CELTIC kid Francis Turley has revealed that he knocked back the chance to move to RANGERS when he was youngster.
The 19-year-old winger, handed his senior bow by Brendan Rodgers as a late sub in a win at St Mirren in August, came to the attention of the Ibrox men and another Premiership side in the form of Aberdeen, plus the likes of Ipswich and Burnley in England.
Turley in action[/caption]
Brendan Rodgers and Francis Turley[/caption]
Turley made his full debut against St Mirren[/caption]
But he was brought up a Celtic and Cliftonville fan and reckons there was “no chance” of a move to Ibrox ever coming to pass.
Turley told the Belfast Telegraph: “I had a few options, a few in Scotland — Aberdeen and Rangers — and a few in England — Ipswich, Burnley and others.
“But I wanted the Celtic move to work out. Rangers wasn’t going to happen, no chance.
“It’s always hard when you move over, that’s the reality of it.
But I had stayed in the JD Academy in Jordanstown for two years from 14 to 16 five nights a week and that helped me.
“Moving to a club in England or Scotland is everything you want and you have to give it your best shot.
“If you work hard, the rewards are there and we want to be footballers. I started playing for Ardoyne Youth Club when I was around six-years-old. I played there for about six years before joining Cliftonville.
“After two seasons I moved to Glentoran and then after another two years I moved over to Celtic.
“I trained with the Glens first team but never made a senior debut. Celtic had noticed me playing for Northern Ireland and had been interested for a good while.
“A scout watched me play for the Glens and I was invited over for trials.
“I was only 16 when the trials happened and an opportunity to move to Scotland.
“I was a Cliftonville fan so that was an unreal time for me. Glentoran were one of the best teams in the country so that helped me as well. It worked out well.”
He added: “My family are very proud of what I have achieved so far. They come over as much as they can.
“My dad is always keen to know how I am getting on. They are very happy for me.
“My game has developed well. When you play at a higher level the intensity and physical demands go up and you need to cope with that. The gym work is important, and I need to get bigger and stronger and score goals.
“The challenge is breaking into the first team, it’s not easy with a winning team that is performing but you have to keep working hard and be patient. Having belief in your own ability is important.
“I’m living my boyhood dream, my family support Celtic and now I’m at the club.
“As a Celtic fan I knew how big the club is and how passionate the fans are.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
