Celtic face major call over young talent’s future as Serie A club show interest

Celtic are reportedly facing a major decision over the future of one of their brightest talents in the near future.

Reports in Italy have claimed Hoops youngster Rocco Vata is the subject of interest from Serie A club Torino as he enters the final 12 months of his current contract. The 18-year-old scored 12 goals and provided one assist in 25 appearances in all competitions for Celtic’s B team last season and made four substitute appearances for the senior side throughout the campaign.

Vata received praise from B team manager Stephen McManus towards the end of last season as he broke into the senior setup under former Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou.

He said: “The biggest thing about our role this year has been to try and develop players so that we can bridge the gap between our first team. We’ve not had Ben Summers, Bosun Lawal or Rocco Vata (in the B team) for a reason. That’s because they’ve been performing very well and then they are up with the first team.

“We don’t want them with us, in the nicest possible way, because that means they are then performing at a high level. You see that with Rocco coming on. We are absolutely delighted, and hopefully there can be a few more before the end of the season.”

Vata has wasted little time in getting off the mark this season after grabbing his first goal as the Hoops second string fell to a 3-1 defeat against East Kilbride in the Challenge Cup last week.

However, there has been speculation over the youngster’s future in recent days and a report in Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb has suggested Torino are ‘trying to take’ Vata to Italy and offer him an opportunity to take the next step in his career.

The Sunday Mail have also claimed a number of English clubs and clubs around Europe are also monitoring the situation.