Celtic hope for Rocco Vata despite lack of game time and expiring contract

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers made sure to include Rocco Vata when asked about Daniel Kelly and his potential at the Bhoys on Friday.

Kelly has been garnering lots of attention in recent weeks after substitute appearances in high-pressure matches, some of which have been for big chunks of the second half.

Those opportunities are in contrast to Vata who made a three-minute cameo against Aberdeen in February, his only appearance since a goalscoring stint off the bench against Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup.

Kelly’s contract expires at the end of 2024, meaning it needs to be renewed soon. Vata’s, meanwhile, is actually up at the end of the current season, making his situation even more urgent.

Brendan Rodgers on Kelly and Vata

In a media conference on Friday, Rodgers confirmed the club are in talks with both regarding extensions and specifically included Vata in an answer to a question about Kelly.

The Bhoys boss said: “I have been very impressed [with Kelly]. It is one of my key tasks here to try and provide a pathway for our young talent and young players to come through into the first team.

“His attitude, his commitment and the qualities that he has – I think he has a very, very bright future. I’ve been really pleased for him.

“Both Daniel and Rocco Vata have been in training with the first team for a while now and they have both shown up very well.

“Daniel has had more opportunities than Rocco but both players have shown quality. More importantly for me, as young players they have shown a willingness to learn, develop and improve. I think both players have been in talks with the club but I don’t have any update on that.”

At one stage, Vata looked destined for a Celtic exit. He was only involved with the B team and Italian clubs were showing interest in securing him on a pre-contract basis.

However, he’s since been promoted by Rodgers to the first-team training set-up and the Celtic boss is now consistently namechecking him when asked about youth talent, as well as selecting him in match squads – even if he’s not being used much from the bench.

It’d be great to hear both players have been secured to long-term deals, giving them the space and freedom to kick on at the club rather than there being so much uncertainty about their futures.