Daniel Kelly’s Celtic future in focus as youngster nears exit after holding talks

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Celtic contract rebel Daniel Kelly has just a few months left on his deal and now looks set to leave the Bhoys after failing to agree an extension.

The 18-year-old has been featuring at B Team level amid his situation and scored against Gala Fairydean Rovers last week as the deadlock continues regarding his future.

Brendan Rodgers omitted Kelly from pre-season and took a hardline stance after the youngster didn’t put pen to paper with an offer on the table of new terms.

He shed light on the decision, stating: “Daniel, as a young player, again, has been offered a really, really good con­tract by the club. A con­tract that would see him come into the first-team squad and play and per­form and develop because he has a lot of devel­op­ment to do.

“I’ve spoken with the agents and the player some months back to say, ‘listen, if we can’t tidy this up by the sum­mer, then it’s very hard to be with the team in the pre-sea­son’. It’s really as simple as that.”

Now, he appears set to leave the club for a new challenge if reports that emerged earlier today are to be believed.

Millwall could be Daniel Kelly’s next destination

According to The Daily Record, Millwall are ‘set to win the race’ to sign Kelly from Celtic once his contract expires at the end of 2024.

The Scotland Under-19 cap has held talks with the Lions about a move to London in January that could yield regular first-team football.

Bayer Leverkusen are among the European sides that have shown an interest in the Lennoxtown graduate, who has scored once against Dundee in seven appearances for Celtic since breaking through the ranks.

Rocco Vata similarly departed for Watford earlier this summer, and it now seems Kelly is set to follow a path that will lead to him vying for minutes in the Sky Bet Championship.

Brendan Rodgers made his Kelly stance clear

Kelly is entitled to decide his future according to how he sees fit. If he does leave, everyone will wish him well as he looks to establish himself in the game.

Nevertheless, Rodgers made it clear that there was a good offer for the youngster on the table with a chance of genuine progression. Whether you take that at face value or not is individual preference, but he is someone the manager has spoken highly of on several occasions.

As the months have passed, it has become increasingly unlikely that he would extend his time at Parkhead. White smoke may now be starting to emerge on that front; it wouldn’t have been a coincidence that he wasn’t included in pre-season.

Only time will tell regarding his potential exit. Celtic have other priorities in the market to contend with, so that is likely to be at the forefront of their mind.