Liam Scales, born on 8 August 1998 (age 28), is an Irish central defender who joined Celtic from Shamrock Rovers in August 2021. He arrived as a player with room to grow rather than a ready-made fixture, and the loan football that followed formed an important part of that development. It was not the smoothest route into the Celtic side, but it did him no harm.
Since then, Scales has made himself a proper first-team presence. He is still part of the current Celtic squad, wearing number 5, and remains involved regularly in 2026-27. His Celtic spell has already brought four Premiership titles, two League Cups and a Scottish Cup, which is a fair return for a player whose place was once far from guaranteed.
The 2026-27 season has been his most productive in league terms, with three goals in 11 Premiership appearances. Across the campaign, he has also played in the League Cup, Scottish Cup, Champions League qualifiers and Europa League for Celtic, taking him to 22 appearances and three goals in all competitions so far. He has also been involved with the Republic of Ireland, appearing in World Cup qualifiers and the Nations League.
His market value is around £4.5m, according to Transfermarkt. Scales’ Celtic career has been built more through persistence than early certainty, and that remains part of his value: a defender who had to earn his way in and is still relevant to the side now.
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