Daniel Kelly recently made a splash in the Premiership. The 18-year-old midfield dynamo scored an incredible goal during a whopping 7-1 win against Dundee, marking a memorable home debut for Brendan Rodgers’ team.
With his contract winding down at the end of 2024, Kelly’s standout performance has not gone unnoticed, drawing interest from European heavyweights like Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, along with several clubs from England according to MailSport.
In a bid to secure Kelly’s future, Celtic has initiated talks with his representatives. They’re eager to negotiate a new contract before Kelly can agree to a pre-contract with another team this summer. This move comes as Celtic aims to avoid a repeat of losing young talents like Liam Morrison and Barry Hepburn to Bayern Munich and even Ben Doak to Liverpool.
Kelly, who joined Celtic at the tender age of eight, shares agents with Jeremie Frimpong. Frimpong previously left Celtic for Leverkusen in an £11.75 million transfer back in 2021.
Rodgers expressed his fondness for working with Kelly, especially noting his exceptional attitude and physical attributes.
‘He’s a young player that I’ve loved working with since I came back,’ said the Northern Irishman.
‘He came with us on pre-season to Portugal and he has this incredible attitude. He’s 17 years of age and you can see physically how developed he is – his power, his speed, his touch.
‘He is only going to get better and part of the idea and strategy here is to allow these young players to come in and develop. The squad is so big that sometimes the younger players get left to the side.
‘He’s an example that, when there is room for them to come in and train with you, you’ll see the rewards from that.
‘Him and Rocca Vata have been training. Rocco maybe hasn’t had the game time so much but he’s been equally as impressive.’
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Rodgers also highlighting the club’s strategy of integrating young talents like Kelly and Rocca Vata into the team, despite the challenges posed by a large squad. He pointed out that giving young players the chance to train with the first team pays off, as demonstrated by Kelly’s performance.
While Vata hasn’t seen as much game time, Rodgers praised his contributions in training, emphasizing the importance of nurturing young prospects within the team.
