Celtic have offered young Celtic midfielder, Daniel Kelly a new deal and are confident that the highly-rated academy prospect will stay at the club.
Kelly has burst onto the Celtic first-team scene this season after making his debut in the Scottish Cup in the 5-0 win over Buckie Thistle.
The 18-year-old was then given his Scottish Premiership debut at Celtic Park against Dundee after coming on as a second-half substitute for Callum McGregor.
Grabbing a goal in that fixture, the Daily Record reports that Kelly has now been offered a new contract at Celtic as his current deal expires at the end of the season.
The report states that Celtic have ‘tabled an extension’ and that Kelly’s ‘preference’ is to stay at the club despite reported interest from the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.
This will be a huge boost to the Celtic support who have become exasperated with the number of young talents lost to England and abroad over the last few seasons.
What Brendan Rodgers has said about Daniel Kelly
The Celtic manager is a big fan of the Hoops youngster. Rodgers is clearly keen on bringing on Kelly’s development which is reflected in his three appearances for the club at such a crucial stage of the season.
Speaking about Daniel Kelly earlier this season Rodgers said, “He’s a young player that I’ve loved working with since I came back. He came with us on pre-season to Portugal and he has this incredible attitude. He’s 18 years of age and you can see physically how developed he is – his power, his speed, his touch.
“He is only going to get better and part of the idea and strategy here is to allow these young players to come in and develop. The squad is so big that sometimes the younger players get left to the side.
“He’s an example that, when there is room for them to come in and train with you, you’ll see the rewards from that.”
So it does seem that if Kelly puts pen to paper on a new contract he has bright future at Celtic under Brendan Rodgers.
And judging by this report, it seems that a deal may not be too far from being agreed.
In other news, ‘I’ve heard’… Barry Ferguson shares what he’s been told about academy prospects at Celtic