Celtic fans hail Belfast footballer as 'Ardoyne Pele' after latest display

Northern Ireland youngster Francis Turley is certainly making his mark at Celtic. The North Belfast teenager joined the Hoops back in the summer of 2022 after signing an initial three-year deal with the Glasgow giants.

The 18-year-old has been making steady progress at Parkhead, and this season he has flirted with Brendan Rodgers' first-team, and even scored on his senior debut in the summer.

Turley has also come off the bench for his competitive debut in the Scottish Premiership in August, but this week he was shining for the club's Under 19 side as they got back to winning ways in the UEFA Youth League with a brilliant 3-2 victory over RB Leipzig.

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It was a crucial win for the young Hoops, and fans have been quick to sing the praises of teenage starlets Turley and Daniel Cummings.

Stephen McManus' side went into Tuesday's tie having lost back-to-back games against Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund after claiming a victory over Slovan Bratislava on matchday one. But they raced into a 3-0 lead after 65 minutes through a brace from striker Cummings and wide man Josh Dede before late goals from Leipzig's Mika Walther and Jamie Schuldes set Celtic up for a nervy finish in Glasgow.

But Celtic were able to hold on and keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds alive, with boyhood Parkhead fan Cummings and Northern Ireland youth international Turley taking the plaudits from some supporters on social media, reports the Daily Record.

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One fan wants to see forward Cummings given a chance by Brendan Rodgers at first team level by writing "Get DC in the first team squad" while one fan went even further by stating: "Cummings has done more than enough to earn a first team call up".

But the most eye-catching bit of praise was saved for Turley - who was handed a first team debut by Rodgers as a late substitute in a Premiership win against St Mirren back in August - with one user labelling the talented midfielder as the "Ardoyne Pele" in reference to the Belfast neighbourhood where the 18-year-old was born.

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