With the end of the month nearing, Celtic are approaching deadline day in the January transfer window, and if speculation on the rumour mill is to be believed, the club may still see an arrival or two. However, it is still more likely that there will be a few departures and it was previously being reported that Rocco Vata would be one of them.
The 18 year old Academy graduate has now made five substitute showings for the first team following his breakthrough, and as fans know, he scored his first professional goal for us in the recent 5-0 Scottish FA Cup victory over Buckie Thistle, however, many believed the young talent would be moving on this month as so far, we have not put a new contract offer on the table for him.
For those football fans who like a flutter, the ever changing odds on sites like bet with bet365 could be a fascinating watch in the week to come, as plenty is bound to happen.
Vata’s father, former Celtic squad player Rudi, has now held an interview with Scottish press and although he confirmed that talks had been had with four unnamed but interested Italian Serie A clubs, he felt personally that the Republic of Ireland Under 21 international would, at the very least, likely stay in Scotland, but he was also confident that there would be a ‘positive outcome’ when it came to the issue of his son’s Celtic future.
“Rocco is very focused to remain in Britain. I don’t think he’s mature enough yet to go to another country and another club. He wants to play for Celtic and earn the respect of the people there. He’s not finished his duties he has here yet. I believe we can build something special. He’s too connected to the club – he has a love affair with Celtic.”
Rudi went on to say that having spoken to Rocco, his preference was to prove he could make it with Celtic, and having recently spoken to the club, he believes and remains confident that there is an agreement to be struck, but we will have to see if there is any movement in the next few days, as Vata can sign a pre contract agreement this month with clubs abroad – even if it is not his preferred option.
With the media suggesting that Bologna and Serie B highflyers Como are two of the four that Rudi references, he went on to state that the talks had resulted in firm offers being placed on the table, and that the clubs who had gone that far had been long term admirers of his son and had been tracking him for the last two years.
After a previous indiscretion, it seems Vata has now proven himself to manager Brendan Rodgers and suitably apologised, so I guess his future with us may be determined by the role he plays in the more immediate future.
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