Dale sign another J. Thompson
Saturday, 21st Aug 2010 09:53 by Col

Dale have added to the ranks in the past 24 hours by drafting in Celtic central defender Josh Thompson.

This time Dale have been the ones heading up the A74 rather than losing our players, by heading to SPL giants Celtic and signing 6'4 central defender Josh Thompson. Despite playing North of the Border, Thompson is Bolton born and bred and signed for the Hoops from Stockport County for £250,000.

He's made 21 appearances for Celtic, and the nineteen year old has scored three goals.

A Celtic supporter on 606 has posted the following about him:

Celtic fan here. Just seen reports that we're sending our young centre back Josh Thompson out on loan to you guys. We bought him last summer and I think everyone assumed he'd be learning his trade in the Under 19s/Reserves for the whole reason. However, due to injuries and general bedlam during what was a pretty bad season for us, he ended up playing a good chunk of 1st team games. This year we've got our injured centre backs fit again and we've signed Sweden captain Daneil Majstorovic which returns Josh to his rightful position of 'apprentice'.

That being said I think Josh is more than your average young centre back. Last year he showed a great deal of maturity and bravery at such a young age to handle the pressure that came with a big club like ours going through a tough season. Sure he made a few mistakes but for a teenager I think he is a fantastic prospect. I think he'll do a good, solid job for you guys and he certainly won't succumb to the pressure of 1st team football like other young loanees sometimes do.

He's a big, big lad and generally wins his headers. Positional sense is decent, concentration is good and he's a fairly able passer of the ball. He's certainly composed for a youngster, but he also knows the right time to punt it into row Z. He isn't quick at all, but anyone in the know can tell you that the bigger lads need to devlop their bodies before they reach their potential physically. Josh has alot of growing to do and will see sizeable increases in his speed. Strength wise, he's fairly combative already and will stand up well to physical strikers in League 1. His tackling is pretty good, so I would still have faith in him against the more talented strikers such as Rickie Lambert.

I think this is a great deal for both clubs, and I'll be monitoring Josh's progress throughout the season. Best of luck Rochdale

Photo: Action Images

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.