Shellharbour's Liam Bonetig signs with Scottish powerhouse Celtic

Bonetig has been playing with the Western Sydney Wanderers A-League academy for a number of years. He is the younger brother of WSW's A-League defender, Alex.

The Wanderers released a statement regarding Liam.

"The 17-year-old was spotted by scouts while playing in the Australian School Boys tournament and Wanderers Academy where Bonetig has worked his way up from the U13s to National Premier League first team this season," the statement read.

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"Despite progression plans in place at the Wanderers to have Bonetig transition into the A-Leagues team in the coming year, the defender has chosen to take the opportunity to sign for the Scottish side.

"The Wanderers will receive a sum in training compensation as Bonetig has been at the club since 2016.

"The Red & Black wish Liam all the best at Celtic and hope that his brother, current A-Leagues player Alex, also eventually makes the move to Europe in the coming years."

The Edmund Rice College student was on trial for four weeks in Scotland. The youngster will initially be with the Celtic B team with the opportunity for first team minutes in the future.

Speaking on his switch to the Bhoys, he said to the official Celtic FC website: "It's an amazing feeling to have signed. It's such a huge club and I couldn't believe it when Celtic were interested," he said.

"So I am just glad to get it done. I couldn't really describe what it felt like when I first heard of Celtic's interest. It's some feeling. The boys told me it's a great time to come to the club with some big games coming up.

"So playing and travelling to those is going to be some experience. Since I have been here, the coaches and players have been great to me. They have been really welcoming and made my time very easy at the moment. Now, I am just really excited to get going."

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