What Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers last said about Portsmouth and West Ham-linked Daniel Cummings
Celtic youngster Daniel Cummings is the latest player to be linked with a move to Fratton Park.
Reports emerged on Thursday that the Blues were keen on the 18-year-old striker who has bagged 25 goals for the Parkhead side’s B team this year.
And with the Scotland under-19 international out of contract at the end of the season, with no new deal on the table. it’s been claimed that Pompey are eager to wrap up a deal by landing the player on a pre-contract agreement.
A compensation fee in the region of 310,000 euros is believed to be a figure the Blues would need to stump up in order to land the exciting talent, who has also been linked with West Ham, Brighton, Sunderland, Ipswich and others in recent weeks.
But with the youngster banging in the goals on a regular basis at both home and abroad for Stephen McManus’ Celtic B team and drawing comparisons to Charlie Nicholas, it begs the question: what’s keeping the Hoops from tying down the free-scoring 18-year-old to a new contract?
A question for Brendan Rodgers
That’s a question many Hoops supporters have themselves been asking when you scroll through the many fan-led websites dedicated to the Scottish Premiership giants.
In truth, the only person who really knows why is Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, who is yet to hand Cummings his maiden senior appearance for the runaway league leaders.
The youngster was an unused substitute in the Hoops’ recent 4-1 win against Ross County - his maiden call-up to the senior team. But he hasn’t been called upon since, despite the Glasgow giants competing on three different fronts in the league, Scottish Cup and Champions League.
When asked for his thoughts on Cummings at the tail end of 2024, Rodgers responded: ‘I would like to think that I’ve been a coach, throughout my career, who’s always put in young players. If you trace my managerial career - and before that, my 15 years in youth development - I’ve given debuts to players as young as 16, 17, or 18.
‘There's so much involved in giving a young player the opportunity to play. It’s not just about scoring goals or performing, it’s your mentality, it’s your professionalism, it’s all these things alongside ability that is what gets you the opportunity, so that’s always something I’ll assess.
‘In terms of Daniel’s output, his goals in his games, he’s done very well. But there are a lot of factors I consider when bringing in a young player. Ability is the first thing I look at, but your attitude and application are just as important. Young players will always get a chance here and there’s always a number of factors why they can or can’t get a chance, but the first one’s normally ability. If they’re good enough, they’ll get a chance.
‘You’ll hear all these things about Celtic and the pathway. If you’re good enough you’ll get a chance - good enough in terms of your game and good enough in your attitude. If you do that, and you have a little bit of patience, you can become a Celtic player... You’ll get a chance, but you’ve got to have the right traits in order to be a Celtic player.’
Pompey continue to plan for the future
Pompey are not shy when it comes to recruiting for the future, with this week’s arrival of Brisbane Roar teenager Thomas Waddingham proof of that.
The Blues are believed to have splashed out £200,000 on the Australia Under-23 international, who bagged 15 goals in 40 appearances for Ruben Zadkovich’s side following his debut for the club in 2023. In the past couple of days Pompey have also agreed a £1.27m deal for the services of 20-year-old Sydney FC defender Hayden Matthews, who’s arrival is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
The summer signings of Liverpool’s Harvey Blair, Borussia Dortmund’s Abdoulaye Kamara and Jacob Farrell (Central Coast Mariners) also demonstrates their intention of developing players with outstanding potential.
And while that trio are yet to make their mark on head coach John Mousinho’s Championship plans this season, talk of interest in Cummings shouldn’t come as a surprise as the Blues keep one eye on the here and now, plus the future, as we approach the end of the January transfer window.