Celtic-bound starlet changed his name as tribute to hero Liverpool midfielder

Odin Thiago Holm, heard of him? You may have seen his name linked with a move to Celtic in recent days, but the young Norwegian has a peculiar link to Liverpool’s Thiago Alcântara.

Scottish giants Celtic are poised to complete a £2.2m deal for the U20 international who plays for Vålerenga in Norway’s top flight. With Brendan Rodgers set to return for a second-spell at the Scottish champions, the former Leicester City manager is likely to give this deal the green-light in the coming week.

Already chalking up 68 appearances in the Eliteserien, the 20-year-old has featured at every junior international level for his country and has been hailed as a bright, young talent for the future. He was named in the Guardian’s 60 best young talents in the world back in 2020. However, we’re focusing on what he did as a 17-year-old that links him to Thiago.

To summarise, Holm changed his name in 2017 to incorporate Thiago’s name. According to Football Scotland, the 20-year-old has always dreamed of playing for Barcelona and in 2017, he managed to convince his parents to approve of the name change. They approved the paperwork and an application was sent off to the Norwegian registry, and then approved.

Speaking about the decision, the soon-to-be Celtic prospect explained: “It’s something I’ve struggled with for many, many years, until mum and dad gave up and said ‘okay’. Dad in particular was not entirely positive about it. But luckily they agreed to it in the end. It was a bit about it being fun, and then it’s more international. That was it actually, I think it sounded cool and is kind of funny.

His admiration for the midfielder is certainly justified, as Thiago has been one Europe’s best technicians over the last decade during his time at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and now Liverpool. Holm himself possesses strong technical ability and can play across anywhere in midfield and it’ll be interesting to see how he develops at Celtic, given he has had Premier League suitors in the past.

You have to admire the dedication to change his name and actually go through with the process. We just wonder if he’ll ever get the chance to meet his idol in the flesh.