Rocco Vata

Your right most likely there in terms of this season. Hopefully we can persuade him to stay though by signing a new contract and maybe as a bridge we then look at the same time to loan him out for next season to another spfl club like Aberdeen or Hibernian so he can get regular first team football. I think this lad has real potential but he needs regular first team football asap at a decent level now if he is to have a chance to really make it with us.

 

Why would he stay here? No game time and frozen out.

We are a shambles at this sort of situation.

 

I don't disagree that our academy situation is a mess with no proper platform for our best young players to be able to make the jump to the first team. Until we are allowed put our B team into the league system proper that will remain the case. The best we can hope for with a player like Vata who IMHO has genuine potential but isn't first team ready is to get him signed to a new deal but part of the whole plan is we send him out on loan to say for example a team like Hibernian or Aberdeen for the whole season so he can get the regular first team minutes he needs right now. Whether that will happen or not we will see come the end of the season but thats what I am hoping happens.

 

He was breaking into the first team, just starting to get the opportunities under Ange, made it clear he wasn’t interested in a new deal and was exploring other options. Ange then wasn’t interested in wasting any time on him.

Same in the summer, not interested in a deal, content to wait for a bosman and seeing what’s out there. Then after talking to clubs in Jan, decided here may be better, and was brought into the fold immediately.

Looks like he’s not very serious about staying though, so others are getting the chance. Usually it’s us, but three promising youngsters I don’t blame us with - Doak, Dembele and Vata just now.


Keep in mind with the boy as well btw, his old boy is a pretty well connected agent. He’ll be shopping about majorly, for a good club to develop for as much dough as possible. Free agent move, no transfer fee needed, that gets the biggest wages or sign on fee to make up for wages being in a structure with others there. We’ve been trying to nail him down on a new deal for 2 years or so, it’s not us that don’t have the appetite for it here.

 

He could be established by now if he committed to being a Celtic player. In the time he’s made it clear he was running down his contract there’s been 3/4 times injury issues meant he would have been playing more, he was nearly breaking into the team before that.

 

Something changed at some point. Frequently players were obviously for the off but still got played if it benefitted the team.

Vata playing this season when needed would have helped us. Find it kind of pathetic the way these things are handled now.

 

Playing an inexperienced unknown option, that needs developing, when they’re clearly for the off anyway doesn’t make sense either. It also doesn’t scream this guy will give everything for us despite his inexperience even though you rate his ability and future promise highly.

Not just a lack of commitment as well, he lacked professionalism having poor timekeeping in the summer. Until he seemed to be buying back in and wanting to be here, wanting to show why we want him and been talking to a young guy for over a year… and showed that in training, he got involved again. Brief that though, feels like a bluff on his part having not got a deal he deemed good enough in January.

And that’s also a bit suss, because he had a lot of interest as well. Screams of his own stardom being in his head already. If he signs a deal, we need to deal with that swiftly. Brest sending Karamoko Dembele to Blackpool, that took 6 months or so to humble him and he’s now showing why he was rated that highly at 13/14.

Young player’s mentality is far more important than ability.

 

You are likely 100% right, just disappointing as Vata does appear to have end product.

 

AC Milan led a string of top Italian clubs who watched Rocco Vata net a hat-trick for Ireland’s Under-21s.

The Rossoneri had scouts at the game along with Serie A rivals, Bologna and Atalanta. The Celtic attacker impressed as he netted a second half treble in Ireland’s convincing 7-0 away win over San Marino’s under-21s. The Hoops youngster is out of contract in the summer and could be snapped up for around £400,000 in training compensation


AC Milan have previously gone into the Irish market to sign Cathal Andrews before they sold him back to Newcastle United. Ireland remains attractive for Italian clubs as they are still part of the European Union, with the likes of Kevin Zefi at Roma and Senan Mullen at Torino. Celtic remain in talks over a new deal and have tabled an extension until the summer of 2027.

Vata already has strong Italian club interest. Bologna and Serie B pair Sampdoria and Como have been long-term admirers and have already declared their interest


The 18-year-old is also wanted by Watford. The English Championship side along with a number of Italian sides are in talks with Vata’s representatives, CAA Base, over a possible summer move. Aberdeen midfielder Killian Phillips, on-loan from Crystal Palace, also came off the bench for the Irish under-21s in San Marino on Friday night

 

Some people might not want to hear this but Brendan Rodgers and John Kennedy see this guy day in and day out at training and clearly don’t rate him high enough to give him a start or even a place in the bench.

Do you really think coaches as experienced as Rodgers and Kennedy can’t spot a highly talented player when they see one? Vata obviously has some improving to do if he wants a first team place at Celtic.

 

That's not necessarily the reason. Young players are inexperienced, hence vulnerable to mistakes. Given we are in a title race with the huns, every game matters. Preassure comes into play. Experienced players are less likely to make costly mistakes compared to a 18-year-old kid. It's possible BR values Vata, but wants to play it safe. If we don't win the league, his job may be on the line.

 

At his ahead guys like mcgeady, maloney, and forrest were getting much more game time.
We signed a 19 year old abada fir 3million.

If he's good enough and can be trusted then he deserves game time.

 

By that logic, barely any manager in recent history (last 30 odd years) sees any of our young talent as remotely decent enough then.


That or, considering clubs like Bologna and Milan are sniffing, guys like Doak and Morrison have went to bigger youth setups, we've let guys like doig, hickey etc slip by us, that we just * suck at youth development.



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Hickey also knocked us back around 3 times despite being a Tim. Can’t blame us there he had zero interest in coming here.

Lewis Ferguson is a major one though.

 

Don't blame lads for knocking us back.
We've been woefully poor at developing youth for decades now.

The odd few break that mould for sure, but they are one every 5 years sort of players, where as we should be having a couple each year stepping up.

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At the time he knocked us back he was looking at a team with Kieran Tiernety, Callum McGregor, Scott Brown and James Forrest being at the heart of it mate. 3 youth products and a highly rated Scottish Youngster we bought in for big money who became one of our most successful players ever.

More than a 3rd of the team Scottish guys developed and great examples to think ‘I can do that’

 

This name deserves a career.

on the other hand - anyone got goals from that game?

 

thx
the second one was a peach

 

Other clubs circulating doesn't really mean too much. Teams wanted Welsh and we used that as a barometer of quality.