Rodgers bins youngster from Celtic plans over his refusal to sign new contract

CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers has BINNED Daniel Kelly from his pre-season plans after he rejected a new contract.

Rodgers handed Kelly, 18, his first five top team appearances last season but he was nowhere to be seen for the friendlies against Ayr and Queen’s Park.

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His current deal expires on December 31 and the Hoops had hoped to tie him down on a long-term extension.

But their offer was snubbed and Rodgers has revealed he has been left out of his preparations for the new campaign.

Rodgers said: “There’s no impasse. Daniel, like Rocco Vata before him, has been offered a deal.

“With the greatest respect, I have worked with young players and I know the levels of young players and where they’re at from a technical perspective and a financial perspective.

“Rocco was offered a contract and he was going to be one of the three strikers at Celtic but he decided that wasn’t going to be for him so he left.

“That is absolutely fine and we wish him all the very best. Similarly Daniel, as a young player, has been offered a really good contract by the club.

“It’s 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 spoke 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 pre-season’. It’s as simple as that.

“I like Daniel but he has a lot of work to do and I feel that for him and his family, this is a great place for him to be able to do that.

“You’ve got a manager who sees a talent there, who sees the physicality that he has and the areas he needs to brush up on.

“What a great club and place this is for him to be able to do that. If that’s not enough then that’s ok. It’s absolutely fine.

“You’ll go somewhere else and maybe play. But you never know. We’ve got until December but it’s just disappointing at this stage that it hasn’t happened because he would have had a great opportunity this pre-season.

“I just know the value both in terms of the players’ qualities and the contract offer. The offers that the club gave were very good for young players in terms of where they’re at.”

Attacker Vata opted to join Watford instead and Kelly – who scored on his debut against Dundee – is now able to discuss terms with clubs, with Bayer Leverkusen already linked.

Rodgers has yet to add to his squad, with Norwich having rejected an initial offer to bring Adam Idah back while talks continue with Benfica over another loanee from last season Paulo Bernardo.

A replacement for goalie Joe Hart still hasn’t been found but Rodgers is still hopeful new faces can arrive before next week’s trans-Atlantic trip.

He added: “It’s natural to ask that question because we’re a club that needs to improve the squad.

“I mentioned before about getting at least a couple in before we go to America. That’s still the idea.

“We all know we lost three players and they were very important players for us. That alone demonstrates we need to make that right and we also have to improve.”

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Meanwhile, Atalanta have kicked off the bidding war for Matt O’Riley after slapping in a bid for the Celtic midfielder.

SunSport understands the Europa League winners made their move for O’Riley, 23, on Thursday.

But the offer has been kicked out by the Hoops.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Serie A side are flying high after their fourth-placed league finish and shock Europa League victory over Bayer Leverkusen, which leaves them seeded for the new-look Champions League.

That gives them guaranteed future earnings but their coffers could be swelled further by the sale of Dutch midfielder Teun Koopmeiners to Juventus.

O’Riley had a stunning campaign last season, with his 19 goals and 18 assists landing him nominations for both the writers’ and players’ player of the year awards.

He was a shock omission from the Danish squad for the Euros but returned to action on Wednesday night, when he netted during a 45-minute runout in the Hoops’ 6-4 friendly win against Queen’s Park.

Spanish giants Atletico Madrid had an offer for O’Riley rejected in January, with the likes of Southampton and Leicester among English sides who are known admirers.

O’Riley is due to be a part of the Hoops squad which jets off for a three-game tour of the USA on Tuesday ahead of games with DC United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

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