Former Aberdeen star, Scott McKenna, has left the door ajar for a potential return to the Scottish Premiership, with Celtic being a likely suitor. The 27-year-old is now a free agent, having seen out his contract with Nottingham Forest, and his recent loan stint at FC Copenhagen has only heightened speculation.
As the Euros loom large, McKenna is keen to let his performances do the talking, hoping to attract suitors with his displays on the international stage. It’s clear he’s not in a rush to make any decisions until Scotland’s campaign concludes, yet the murmurs linking him with Celtic are growing louder by the day. It’s worth noting that Brendan Rodgers, during his first tenure at Celtic, had already shown interest in McKenna.
Caught in the midst of fervent speculation, McKenna acknowledged the inevitable chatter among the fanbases of both Celtic and Rangers. “That is just natural when you have got teams the size of Celtic and Rangers,” he told MailSport. “I know a lot of people who support both teams, so it is going to happen. They are going to question you, but there is nothing to tell. I’m without a club, so I think I would need to consider anything. There is nothing as of now, so there is nothing to think about.”
For now, McKenna is firmly focused on his immediate task – to make the most of his training and seize any opportunity to impress for his country. “For me, that is completely on the back burner – I just have to do everything I can in training to try and get whatever minutes I can on the pitch here. Anything after that will take care of itself.”
He added, “There is no bigger stage if you are on the pitch to put you in the shop window. I can only do that by first and foremost training well and trying to get in the manager’s thoughts. To be honest, I am open to anything. I would never rule anything out.”
Despite the swirling rumours, McKenna is adamant that nothing concrete has materialised yet. “In terms of the speculation, that’s all it’s ever been. It has never really gone any further than that and, until there is anything more, I don’t really have anything to think about. There’s been no contract talks anywhere, really. My sole focus is to try and get as many minutes as I can here if the opportunity arises. There’s no bigger shop window.”
His recent move to Copenhagen in January saw him thrown play against Manchester City in the Champions League. Despite the baptism of fire, McKenna relished the experience and would welcome more exposure to Europe’s elite competitions. With Celtic guaranteed eight games in next season’s Champions League, the lure of Parkhead might just be too tempting to resist.
Celtic are looking to make some sizeable changes to their squad ahead of next season. While the bhoys got over the line, the lack of depth and poor recruitment last summer left it more edgy than they would care to admit. McKenna would be an experienced and interesting signing if the Hoops were to move for him. He would also tick the homegrown box for the European quota.
