Brendan Rodgers has failed to give any assurances over the future of Dedryck Boyata as he revealed how the Celtic contract rebel is “going to sign the biggest contract of his life”.
The Belgium international is out of contract at Parkhead at the end of the season and can leave the club on a free transfer.
Boyata tried to engineer an exit from Celtic in August amid fury that the hierarchy were refusing to sell him before the transfer window closed.
“In terms of Dedryck, he is in the last year of his contract,” Rodgers told the AGM, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “He has made great strides and is now playing regularly for the number one ranked team in the world.
“He is at an age where he will assess everything in the coming months. He knows he is at a fantastic club and is getting great experiences.
“But he is probably going to sign the biggest contract of his life and you have to respect that with players.
“There is nothing down but you can see in his performances he is very committed to Celtic. We will just see how that develops over the next few months.”
OPINION
To Boyata’s credit, he has knuckled down after trying to worm his way out of Parkhead in the summer, when he downed tools and made it clear he would rather be somewhere else amid strong speculation Fulham had made him a huge offer. A massive pay rise beckons for the Belgian next year and it appears Rodgers and the Celtic hierarchy have given up all hope of trying to keep him. Boyata is in a strong negotiating position and can agree a pre-contract with a foreign club, including those in the Premier League, in the January window. Now playing regularly for the world’s number one ranked side Belgium, Boyata can virtually write his own cheque. While Hoops regulars regard Boyata as a fine centre-back who is the best and most experienced at the club, they don’t regard him as being anywhere close to the standard of ex-star Virgil van Dijk, who has now developed into the best in the Premier League at Liverpool.