Celtic 26-year-old goal hero confirms PL interest, talks future plans
By Will Butcher
Dedryck Boyata has revealed that he decided to reject interest from three top-tier clubs around Europe in January to remain at Celtic.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the 26-year-old defender has revealed he received interest from Hull City, Anderlecht and Werder Bremen last month but decided to remain on Parkhead.
Now, the Belgium international has broken back into Brendan Rodgers’ first-team plans after making just one prior appearance this season.
“Given that I wasn’t playing at Celtic, I told my agent to look at what was possible,” Boyata said.
“But I also asked him not to give me unnecessary headaches and only talk to me about concrete offers.
“It is true, he mentioned the interest of Anderlecht, Werder Bremen and Hull, but it was never serious enough to alert Celtic.”
Boyata has starred back in the Bhoys’ first team in recent outings, keeping four clean sheets in his run of five games that are his first since his only outing of the season back in November.
More importantly, Boyata was the hero in front of goal in two of Celtic’s last four games, securing six points with winning goals in the 1-0 victories over St. Johnstone and Aberdeen.
It gives him an impressive eight goals in 48 games for Celtic.
In a message that Celtic fans will be slightly concerned about though, the former Manchester City defender said that while he is happy to stay with the 47-time Scottish champions, he wants a future move to the Premier League.
“I still have my dreams in football,” he said in the Daily Record. “The one that currently occupies me is Celtic. Possibly, one day I may be able to prove myself in the Premier League.”
Football Insider verdict:
Keeping Boyata at Celtic Park has worked out astonishingly well for Rodgers and the Hoops, as they look to continue their domination over the Scottish Premiership. However, with Boyata continuing to impress, European sides are likely to draw the attention of the two-time international in the summer. That could see Celtic lose their versatile defender, but with his stock beginning to grow once again, they could command a bigger transfer fee for him. In what is a win-win situation, Rodgers should look to keep Boyata at Celtic unless a fantastic offer comes in for him.
In other Celtic transfer news, the agent of this midfielder has revealed Celtic’s response to a bid of more than £4million for his client.
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