Reports from the Daily Record in the summer did the rounds that Celtic were interested in bringing in Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna to Park Head and had a bid of £3.5m rejected for him. Reportedly the Dons were valuing their talented centre-half in the region of £10m, and the move didn’t see the light of the day as the transfer window shut down.
Ever since, McKenna has gone from strength to strength and has garnered interest from English top flight club like Wolves. Recent reports (Birmingham Mail) are suggesting that Championship outfit Aston Villa are also in the mix to land him and Celtic currently seem to be fighting against the odds to sign him.
The defender recently was asked about the interest which he is generating from England to which he said,’’ I think that is most people’s ambition [playing in the Premier League]. It’s been a good year but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. If I take my eye off the ball it would be quite easy to slip out of the Aberdeen team and then that would seem a million miles away.”
The way the Scottish defender suggested that Premier League is an ambition for everyone, clearly showcases that he would like to play in the English top flight someday.
Celtic are very likely to lose the likes of Filip Benkovic and Dedryck Boyata soon. Benkovic could be recalled by Leicester as early as January. Therefore Rodgers might have to be on the lookout for a new defender. The performance of Jack Hendry and Jozo Simunovic wouldn’t have filled the manager with a lot of confidence and someone like McKenna seems to be an ideal fit for Rodgers.
Mckenna has all the tools which a centre-back requires as he is strong and decisive in his challenges, reads the game well, can play out from the back and along with that, the Scotsman is just 21. The Scottish international has the ability to take his game a notch further in the next few years and it is no surprise that clubs from England are vying for his signature.
With a club like Wolves in the race, the Hoops aren’t going to be a match if the West Midland club is really interested in the defender. Wolves spent almost £50m in the just gone by summer transfer window, and they look like a club with ambition so there shouldn’t be any surprise if they go on to pay the reported amount for Mckenna in the future. After the latest comments and development, we feel Celtic might just have lost the race to sign this talented Scottish centre-half.
