Liam Scales, born on 8 August 1998 (age 27), is an Irish central defender who joined Celtic from Shamrock Rovers in August 2021. He had already shown useful attacking output in Ireland, with his 2021 league season at Shamrock Rovers bringing two goals in 23 appearances before the move to Glasgow.
His Celtic career was not an instant straight line into the side. The early loan spell that followed helped harden the edges of his game, giving him regular senior football and the weekly tests defenders tend to need. Scales returned to Celtic better equipped for the job, which is often the less glamorous but more reliable route.
Now wearing squad number five, Scales remains part of the current Celtic first-team group. He has won three Premiership titles, two League Cups and one Scottish Cup with the club, and was also part of a Celtic side that finished runners-up in the Scottish Cup. That is a solid return for a player whose place has been earned rather than assumed.
In 2026–27, he has made four Scottish Cup appearances and nine in the Europa League for Celtic, scoring once. He has also been involved with the Republic of Ireland, making three appearances in European World Cup qualifying. His current market value is around £4.5m, according to Transfermarkt.
Scales’ career has moved from Ireland to Celtic, through a useful spell away on loan, and back into the side as an established defender. It has been a steady climb rather than a noisy one, which rather suits him.
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