Celtic return to the Scottish Premiership this weekend and all eyes will be on Celtic Park as Brendan Rodgers’ men take on Aberdeen.
A win will keep their eight-point lead intact at the top of the table an continue to put pressure on Rangers who still have a game in hand.
To get the result, Celtic must look to play their in-form players but there is one youngster that Peter Grant believes must be given a run in the team soon due to his goalscoring exploits in the B team.
Grant said [The Go Radio Football Show], “Everybody tells me about Rocco Vata. So if he’s not signed a new contract and that’s the reason he’s not involved, we don’t know the ins and outs of that.
“A couple of times I’ve seen him in preseason I thought he’s a winger, he gets by people, he scores goals.
“Seemingly they have changed his position through the middle and he’s scoring goals. But how are we going to be able to see him because he’s not getting in the first team?
“Whether that’s down to the contract, I don’t know. But if it’s down to talent, he’s obviously got something.
“But it doesn’t matter if he’s scored five four weeks in the bounce, he’s not getting in the squad.”
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Vata has to be the most talked about youngster at Celtic since Karamoko Dembele. The Republic of Ireland u21 international has been in superb form for his country and the Celtic youngsters this season.
The 18-year-old has scored ten goals in 12 games so far this season for Celtic B. That takes his tally to 20 in 26 for the B team so far so it is clear he is ready to take the next step in his career. [Transfermarkt]
Celtic rejected an offer for Vata in the summer so it’s evident that he is still valued by the club but with his contract running out at the end of the season, they do risk losing him for free.
And whilst Celtic sit on whether or not to play him or offer him an improved deal, teams from across Europe are sending scouts to watch him.
Brendan Rodgers has already told the youngster what he needs to do to be a success at Celtic so whether Vata has taken that on board or not could be a clue as to why he’s not been included in the senior squad this season.
Celtic need to start looking at ways to resolve the Vata situation soon because if they don’t they risk losing another talented youngster who could have become a star for the club.
In other news, Simon Jordan says Brendan Rodgers has done something at Celtic which he really dislikes