Former Celtic transfer target Scott McKenna doesn’t want to leave Aberdeen until he’s won trophies at Pittodrie, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
Celtic submitted a rejected £3.5m transfer bid for the player last summer when Brendan Rodgers was still at the club, during a period of massive uncertainty about the future of Dedryck Boyata at Celtic Park.
Interest in the player appears to have cooled since then, there was no bid in January for example, but speculation remains rife that the young defender could be leaving Aberdeen in the summer.
For now, he’s not letting the rumours get to him.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the 22-year-old said:
I don’t know when I’ll move on from Aberdeen but I want to make sure when I do, I’ve moved on from a successful team. I don’t want to be known for being part of the generation who came after the League Cup winners who didn’t really achieve anything.
If I’m going to leave Aberdeen, I want to do it with a Scottish Cup.
I wouldn’t say the speculation has put more pressure on me this year. I just try to take responsibility out on the pitch, but that’s what you have to do playing in my position anyway.
If I want to better myself, I need to be able to handle that responsibility.
McKenna will have the chance to break Celtic hearts this weekend when we face the Dons in Scottish Cup semi-final action at Hampden.
The Scotland international will be a key part of the Aberdeen performance and he’s a barrier we’ll have to navigate to find our way to goal.
With Boyata again heavily linked with a move away from Celtic and Filip Benkovic likely to be heading back to parent club Leicester City, we’ll be looking for defensive options again in the summer.
Sunday will be a good test of whether McKenna is a viable option.
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