Derek McInnes recognises that Celtic transfer target Scott McKenna will one day leave the club, but doesn’t want to see him exit Pittodrie this January.
The Hoops lodged bids for the Scotland international in August which were swiftly rejected by the Dons.
With another window opening this month though, Brendan Rodgers’ interest in the player is unlikely to have cooled considering his decent form in the first half of the season.
If anything, the need for a centre-back is even more urgent considering Dedryck Boyata will leave the club either this month or at the end of the season.
McInnes does not want to see his star player leave though, telling The Evening Express:
We’ll always lose players as a consequence of the team doing well. I totally understand. There are clubs in Scotland that can pay a lot more and we are on the border of the richest league in the world.
If you were to ask any of my players who left, if they could have got the same financial rewards here, then they wouldn’t have wanted to move.
We understand that Scott will go at some point. Do I want that to be in January? No.
Clearly Aberdeen’s desire to retain McKenna will push his price up this month if he is to move, especially since they still have him tied down to a long-term contract.
How much Celtic value him at remains to be seen, but the initial summer bid of £3.5m was a statement that he is thought of highly in Glasgow. It’s not often we weigh in with such a large offer.
Will we return for him before the end of January?
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