What has happened to the forgotten ‘top quality’ player who Celtic signed alongside Jeremie Frimpong

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When Celtic signed Jeremie Frimpong from Manchester City, the club also signed a highly-rated prospect from Manchester United at the time.

Lee O’Connor was once heralded as a ‘top quality‘ by former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United defender, John O’Shea.

At the time, the versatile defender was playing for The Red Devil’s u19 squad and was capped at u21 level for the Republic of Ireland. He made his senior debut for Ireland in a 3-1 win over New Zealand in November 2019.

Over his career, he has been known to play centre-back, right-back and in the midfield. His versatility is clearly what interested Neil Lennon but after signing for the club, he failed to make any impact during his three-year stay at the club.

What happened to Lee O’Connor at Celtic?

The youngster made one appearance for the Celtic B side and was utilised at right back in a 2-0 win over Annan Athletic.

In January 2020, O’Connor joined Partick Thistle for a brief loan spell where he made just five appearances for The Jags before the season was ended due to the COVID pandemic.

The following summer he joined Tranmere Rovers on loan where he made 42 appearances for the League Two side.

O’Connor then followed that up with another loan spell at Rovers the following season where he was eventually signed permanently in the January 2022 window. [BBC]

At the time of joining Tranmere, O’Connor said, “I’m delighted. It was something I’ve wanted to do for a while as I’ve loved my time here so far.

“I’ve really felt at home since my first day. Not only am I enjoying it personally but I think I’m developing really well and I just want to continue that.

“I feel like this is the best thing for my career and it was an easy decision. To play your best football you have to be happy and I’m happy.” [Tranmere FC]

Tranmere currently sit in the relegation zone of League Two with just 6 points out of a possible 30 but still do have plenty of time to secure their status in England’s fourth tier.

In other news, ‘Superstar’ striker who was once on trial at Celtic now named as the best prospect in world football