NOT FOR SALE
Dons reject Celtic bid for defender McKenna
ABERDEEN last night kicked out Celtic’s opening offer for Scotland defender Scott McKenna.
And the Pittodrie club have warned their Parkhead rivals the 21-year-old will not be allowed to leave in the current window.
After weeks of speculation and denials, Celtic made their move on Monday night, following up an enquiry with a bid believed to be in the region of £3.5million.
Sportsmail understands the Dons value their centre-half in excess of £5m and while also reluctant to sell to a close domestic rival, they have warned the Scottish champions any increased bid would be a waste of time.
Reluctant to let unsettled Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata leave until he secures a replacement, manager Brendan Rodgers dispatched coach John Kennedy to watch McKenna in action against Burnley in the recent cross-border Europa League clash. The defender,
SCOTLAND Under21 manager Scot Gemmill believes Scott McKenna’s desire and determination set the perfect example to young players across the country.
The Aberdeen centre-half has enjoyed a sensational rise over the last 18 months, going from Under-20s football and a loan spell at Ayr United to captaining the senior Scotland squad and being the subject of a bid from Celtic.
And Gemmill, speaking at the squad announcement for the upcoming European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Andorra and Holland, insists McKenna would be able to cope with a move to the double-Treble winners.
‘He’s really lucky right now to be working for a manager (Derek McInnes) who has helped him develop and given him the opportunity to do that at Aberdeen,’ said Gemmill.
‘There’s no doubt Scott has shown he can be trusted to play at the very top level in top games.
‘It’s a good example of there being not one tried-and-tested pathway for young players.
‘Some of them go straight in, like Kieran Tierney, and there are people like Scott, who had to wait and go on loan.
‘Maybe the loan didn’t go how he thought and he could have been disheartened but he had the right mentality to handle that disappointment and go again.’
It has been almost a year since McKenna made an impressive debut for the Scotland Under-21s side in the 2-0 victory over Holland, a match which the player admitted got the attention of his club boss McInnes.
McKenna went into the Aberdeen first team and helped keep three clean sheets in his first three matches, with wins over Motherwell, St Johnstone and Hibernian.
‘Aberdeen deserve enormous credit,’ said Gemmill. ‘We only have him for a very short period of time and it’s great that we can help in terms of his development.
‘You refer to that game against Holland. Derek has also been honest enough to say how influential that game was, but the real credit has to go to Aberdeen and Derek for his development.’
McKenna is not the only hot prospect coming through the Scotland youth set-up, with Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour, Hearts’ John Souttar and Hibs’ Stephen Mallan creating their own headlines — and Gemmill reckons Scotland have turned a corner in youth development.
‘There’s no doubt the quality of player is improving fast and the clubs deserve a lot of credit,’ he continued.
‘Like I said, we only get them for a very short period of time. All the hard work is being done at the clubs.
‘The results of the national youth teams have put our young players in a position where they can go into games with a real belief the opposition they have played has been second to none.’ SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Ryan Fulton (Hamilton), Robby McCrorie (Rangers), Ross Doohan (Celtic*). Defenders: Ross McCrorie (Rangers), Tom McIntyre (Reading), Ryan Porteous (Hibernian), Liam Smith (Ayr United), John Souttar (Hearts), Greg Taylor (Kilmarnock), Ryan Williamson (Dunfermline). Midfielders: Chris Cadden (Motherwell), Allan Campbell (Motherwell), Lewis Ferguson (Aberdeen), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea), Michael Johnston (Celtic), Stephen Mallan (Hibernian), Kyle Magennis (St Mirren), Iain Wilson (Kilmarnock), Oliver Burke (West Brom). Strikers: Fraser Hornby (Everton), Oliver Shaw (Hibernian), Scott Wright (Aberdeen). *On loan at Ayr United