THE head of the Ayr United Football Academy says Luke McCowan’s move to Celtic is an inspiration to all those involved with the youth set-up at Somerset Park.

McCowan followed up his deadline day switch from Dundee to Celtic with a debut in the closing stages of the opening Old Firm clash of the season – but before taking to the pitch as a Celtic player for the first time, the 23-year-old took time to contact academy head Davie White to share his excitement at the move and to thank White and his Ayr colleagues for helping shape his career.

Speaking to Ayr’s media team last week, White admitted to feeling a combination of “pride, satisfaction and probably a wee bit of inspiration to us all at the Academy”.

McCowan joined the Ayr academy in 2015 at the age of 15 from Greenock side East End United and eventually made himself a first team regular after signing his first professional contract at Somerset Park two years later.

He made the move to Dens Park in the summer of 2021 before moving to Celtic for a reported fee of around £1 million on August 30.

White said: “Essentially we’ve supported Luke to become a million pound player.

The fact that he’s now with a team that’s in the Champions’ League, the fact he’s now got a million pound price tag on him, is inspirational for everybody that was involved with Luke.

“Everybody who’s around the academy and the club should take a real satisfaction, and I suppose a real enjoyment, out of seeing him progress to the level he’s at now.

“On the Saturday myself and Luke exchanged a few texts about some of the things we used to discuss, and try and develop him on when he was at Ayr, and he’s taken some of those things on in his career.

“I’m so lucky that you can have those relationships that when they have a big moment and they reach out to you and exchange a couple of texts. It’s a big moment for myself and it’s a big moment for the academy and the club.”