Camilo Durán's former coach thinks Celtic striker can be key to Colombia's future

A former coach of Camilo Durán's is excited about the future of the Celtic striker, who is in brilliant form this season. Durán has been a bargain recruit for the Bhoys, arriving on a £5.5million deal from Qarabag and so far going on to score 13 times.

Durán has been by far Celtic's most reliable attacker, and he has arguably been their most reliable player full stop.

Durán has rapid pace and is a fine finisher, readily finding the net in both the league and in Europe. He has even been a consistent scorer from out wide, often having to play out of position to accommodate for Kaseper Hogh in the middle.

Most strikers playing out wide would have their eyes firmly facing forward, but Durán has been a workhorse out wide, often seen tracking back.

At 24 years of age, Durán is not a very young player, but he does still have time to develop further, and he now has two Colombia appearances under his belt.

Durán's former Independiente Medellin coach, Arnulfo Valentierra recently held an interview with Gol Caracol. He said of the striker: "I have always thought Camilo could be something special from the moment I coached him as a kid. He is a player who has that piece of flair.

“When he was just a youngster, he showed something different from the others. So I have obviously followed his career closely and I have watched his games in Scotland since he moved to Celtic.

“It fills me with pride watching him, not because I coached him, but because he’s a player who was eager to play and show his footballing talent, something he’s shown since he was young.”

He added: “I believe he is the future of Colombian football and he should be first pick in our team. For me, he is the best striker we have

“I know we have the players to win a Copa America or reach the World Cup and Camilo is at the centre of that.”

Durán is a really exciting player for Celtic. Alongside Mika Baur, he has been a real silver lining of the summer transfer window, which was otherwise pretty miserable for the Bhoys.

Naturally, he will have to prove himself at a higher level of football before he can become the future of Colombian football, with the nation boasting plenty of talent, as has often been the case through the years.