IT was a dream come true for 18-year-old Francis Turley on Sunday as the Ardoyne lad made his competitive debut for Celtic in the Glasgow club's 3-0 win away to St Mirren.

Turley came on as a substitute for man-of-the-match Reo Hatate in the 88th minute with the young midfielder making a number of good touches and tackles during his time on the Paisley pitch. The result leaves Celtic at the top of the SPFL with three games played.

Taking to social media, Francis posted a photo of himself replacing Hatate with the words "dream come true".

Speaking after the game, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s fantastic to say that you’ve played for Celtic and he understands the work that he needs to do.

“He was very, very good over the course of pre-season, he’s got a lot of work to do physically in his development, and that will come with both him working and natural maturation.

“But at 18 he’s got a great football brain, and that’s a nice reward for him and his family, and he can now keep pushing to get more appearances."

Turley signed a three-year professional deal with the Glasgow giants in September 2022 and won the Scottish FA Youth Cup with the club in May 2023.

In July this year he joined the Celtic senior team in their pre-season tour of the United States. He impressed manager Brendan Rodgers so much that on his return he signed a new four year deal with the Hoops.

The North Belfast lad will now be hoping to make the squad for the first Glasgow derby game of the season when Celtic play Rangers at Parkhead on Sunday.