Brendan Rodgers has revealed why Daniel Cummings was missing from Celtic’s squad to face Motherwell this afternoon at Fir Park, following his Celtic debut on Wednesday night against Aston Villa in the Champions League at Villa Park.
With West Ham United having submitted a £500,000 bid for Cummings before tomorrow’s transfer deadline, his Celtic future looks in doubt. With his current deal expiring in the summer, Celtic may look to cash in before losing him on a compensation fee, having come through the Hoops’ youth system.
Celtic have already lost Kyogo so far this month, with Adam Idah and Johnny Kenny the Hoops’ only first-team strikers. Cummings was given a huge opportunity midweek, but even a Champions League appearance on his debut appears not to be enough to keep him at the club, with the allure of West Ham tempting the Scottish forward.
Despite rumours surrounding a potential move away from Celtic, Rodgers revealed that West Ham’s bid played no part in Cummings missing from this afternoon’s squad.
He said: (The Herald), “He was with the second team yesterday and he was ill in the warm-up, so he didn’t play.
“I believe there’s interest from another club for him, but that’s been the case with a lot of our young players.
“You get to a certain age where they have their contract running out, and then they have a decision to make.
“Do they stay and follow the example of a Callum McGregor, for example, trust the club, be patient and knowing that you might not be right ready at 17, 18, but you have to be a special talent to be.
“Can you just be patient and wait a little bit longer? Or do you do what a lot of players have done and take the opportunity at 18 to look elsewhere?
“So, I think that’s the situation that young Daniel is with his agents. We will just wait and see what happens.”
Quite the update that Cummings is set to join West Ham, in yet another indication of the struggle Celtic are facing to keep academy prospects.
At the stage of their careers where players used to be in and around the Hoops squad, learning from first-team players, they now want to start immediately.
With Cummings’ agent no doubt playing a part in the potential move to Graham Potter’s side, Rodgers is right to point out the patience that Callum McGregor previously showed, going on loan to Notts County for a year before breaking into the Celtic first team. However, now a new generation of players doesn’t want to wait for an opportunity to start, and Cummings is sadly another example of this.
