A Good Celtic Park Workout Ends In Odd Tales Around The Transfer Rumour Mill.

One door opens and another closes. Strange things were happening around Celtic today as we enjoyed a good run out in the Scottish Cup on an afternoon fit only for ducks and mad football fans braving the elements to watch their team.

The game itself was entertaining without being one we will tell future generations we witnessed. There was no avalanche of goals, but there could have been. Fourteen shots in target. Nine times we had the ball in the net. One penalty denied for – haha – an offside. I find that the most amusing decision of all today, and the manager did too. And there was one choice by the manager that I found the most intriguing take from the match.

There was probably not one of us who thought that Rocco Vata would ever be seen in a Celtic first team strip. Until today, that is. Even with rumours swirling that he may yet sign a new contract with us, which would be the most unlikely turnaround since James Forrest did it in Brendan Rodgers first season with us when he looked solid gone, I didn’t expect him to be in the squad or to come on and score. He played well too, and could have had more.

I’ll put it on the record right now that I do not expect him to stay at the club. This just doesn’t have the feel of something with that kind of ending. The interest from Italy is firming up and I think if he’s given the choice he might well opt for that, especially if they present him with a clear plan for reaching the first team which we haven’t.

In some way this is a pity, and I’ve always been of the mind that I’d have loved it if this kid was as good as some people think and willing to commit his future here.

But is he? he good enough and is he willing to stay here and commit to this club for the next phase of his career? If the answer to even one of t hose questions is no then this doesn’t have a happy ending. This is why I still think he’s not going to be here next season.

For all that, it was good to see a glimpse of him for once, in a match at Celtic Park in a competition which mattered. Brendan spoke about him after the game and said that he had a lot still to learn; right there is a man stating the obvious. I worry about all our kids playing in that dire fourth tier setup and I’ve said this before.

One thing is obvious though; if I’m wrong and Vata signs a new deal, he certainly isn’t signing it to go back there. He’s signing it to be a first team player in this squad, and that means he’s going to be in and out of the side for the rest of the season. So this is one of those “wait and see” scenarios, but we’ll know pretty soon how it is going to go.

One door may be open just a crack though. He’s now been involved in the team and scored. If he wants to be here and Rodgers sees a place for him anything can happen.

Another door seems to have closed though, with the rumours about Owen Beck now shut down with his playing for Liverpool today, which rules him out as a signing until the summer at least. If you presume he was our number one left back target then you’d have thought there’d have been some chatter between Liverpool and ourselves over this … so file that away in the bin.

The draw has put against St Mirren away. Talk about an anti-climax to a draw that could have been made right after the game tonight rather than taking place two and some hours later. That match will come right slap bang in the closing stages of the Asian Cup so some of the players we have away right now are certainly not going to play in that tie.

All in all this has been a broadly satisfying day, with a good result and a good performance setting us up nicely for the weekend to come.