Marco Tilio’s future remains unresolved as Celtic and Melbourne City enter negotiations over the winger’s next move, following an impressive campaign in Australia’s top flight.

Tilio, 23, joined Melbourne City on loan from Celtic over a year ago and has found strong form in the A-League. The winger registered five goals and five assists across 19 appearances, playing a key role in his side’s run to the A-League Grand Final.

The Australian international capped off his season by starting in City’s 1-0win over rivals Melbourne Victory in the Grand Final, securing silverware in front of a packed crowd.

Speaking after the final, Melbourne City’s director of football Michael Petrillo confirmed talks with Celtic are ongoing.

He said:(the Football Fever Podcast), “We’re still negotiating whether he stays another year or goes to Europe,” Petrillo told the Football Fever podcast. “We hope he stays another year.”

While Petrillo is hopeful of retaining Tilio, the player’s long-term ambitions remain clear. In an earlier interview with Optus Sport, he said: “I’d hope to be saying I’ll be playing consistently over in Europe, I’d like to say.”

Tilio is now due to join the Australian national team for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia. Following international duty, the winger is expected to take a short break before returning to Scotland, with pre-season at Lennoxtown only a few weeks away.

However, with Tilio’s previous comments, you can’t help but feel that he will either leave Celtic soon to find another team in Europe where he can start consistently and fight for his place in next year’s World Cup squad.

At the very least, he’ll likely return for pre-season with Celtic and try to force his way back into the team after hitting the form of his life.

Having won the A-League title, there’s a sense that Tilio has achieved everything he needed to in Australia, and if his career is truly to go to the next level, he needs to return to Europe permanently.