POVERTY TO PARADISE

CELTIC are set to make a fairytale capture of the Romanian wonder-kid whose talent blossomed in the midst of poverty and who is now being called the next Frank Lampard.

Sixteen-year-old Dumitru Copil was discovered at the age of eight playing in a gypsy encampment 20 miles from the city of Arad on the Romanian-Hungarian border and immediately earmarked for greatness.

Glorea Arad, a Third Division side, arranged for him to make the 40-mile round trip for training with them every day until Copil's family decided to move to the big city in search of jobs for themselves and the chance to pursue their son's football career.

Now Celtic's chief scout Ray Clarke has delivered such a glowing report on Copi that the club has contacted Glorea and arrangements are under way to bring the player to Glasgow early in the New Year.

A transfer fee of £250,000 has been discussed as well as a wage of £1000 a week for the teenager that will seem like a king's ransom to a kid born into hardship but apparently destined for greatness.

Copil is understood to be on £30 a week at the moment at the feeder club whose policy is to discover young talent and then sell them on to the highest bidder. Now the Arad club will willingly let the left-sided midfield player forge a new life in Scotland and his parents will move here with him to give him the stability at home to see if he can make the big time with Celtic.

It is understood Thomaslav Pavlov, a Bulgarian teenager from CSKA Sofia, Stilian Petrov's former club, is also being lined up as Celtic get set to blitz the eastern European market and take advantage of the bargains to be found there.

But last night the club was warned not to run the risk of losing their starlets due to homesickness.

Petrov was only helped overcome dreadful problems with home-sicknesses because he was befriended by Brian Wilson, who worked on Celtic's backroom staff at the time.

Wilson, who then became Petrov's agent, said' "There was a time when Stan was so depressed he was on his way to the airport and a flight home until I talked him out of it.

"Celtic don't need liaison officers to work with the young, foreign players. They need professional carers who'll help them cope with the culture shock.

"Their eating habits are far removed from our own for a start and the difference in lifestyle is so overwhelming they need all the help they can get to cope."

Copil will need assistance to make the transition from his upbringing to what life could hold as a teenage protege.

Arpad Cserneczky has been Copil's coach since he was unearthed in the backwaters and brought into city life. And he knew at first sight Romania had discovered the biggest talent since the legendary Georghi Hagi.

Cserneczky said: "Dumitru grew up with the ball and nothing else. I can tell you there were no other toys in his bedroom.

"When he was only eight he was playing against boys who were bigger and older than him but Dumitru was in love with the ball and an artist with it at his feet.

"He is like Hagi, but Lampard would be the closest British equivalent to him in terms of playing style and aggression."

News of Celtic's move on Copil has prompted a stampede in Romania, with Dinamo Bucharest leading the charge to see if they can steal the player from under Gordon Strachan's nose.

But the top players in the country can't hope to earn any more than £70,000 a year, so to pay an untried teenager that amount of money would be out of the question.

Cserneczky said: "Dumitru's mother and father have been in the position where they've had to look for work for themselves so they'll do whatever it takes to see if they can help him make it to the top in football.

"They would go with him to Scotland and also supervise what's left of his education. Every student in Romania must undergo 10 years' worth of education and Dumitru has two years left of his curriculum. But moving to Scotland would not be a problem with the education authorities."

Hearts and Liverpool had also shown an interest in Copil but last night the teenage sensation confirmed he'll be heading to Celtic.

He said: "It is now 90 per cent certain that I will go to Celtic on January 3. I regard it as a very big honour to join a club like Celtic because they have an excellent European tradition.

There were offers from Hearts and Liverpool but I have decided to go to Glasgow."

Glorea Arad manager Alexandru Meszar has confirmed that Hearts were favourites to sign Copil up until last week but Clarke's report on the player made Celtic bosses sit up and take notice.

Now the teenage wonderboy is on his way to see if he can turn humble beginnings into a golden future.

Taken from the Daily Record