INTEREST IN KELLY IS NO SHOCK TO WELL BOSS

STUART KETTLEWELL admits Celtic’s interest in Liam Kelly comes as no surprise on the back of the goalkeeper’s performances for Motherwell this season.

Mail Sport revealed yesterday that the 28-year-old is on the Parkhead club’s radar ahead of a summer of transition. Joe Hart is set to retire while forgotten man Benjamin Siegrist is poised to move on in search of first-team football. Although Scott Bain remains contracted until 2026, Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers will need to bring in at least one more keeper. A free agent in the summer, the acquisition of Kelly (below) would come without a fee and would bolster the number of homegrown players available to play in Europe. Kelly, who began his career at Rangers before moving to Livingston and QPR, is in line to be part of the Scotland squad which travels to Germany next month for the European Championships. And although Kettlewell hasn’t yet given up hope of his captain remaining at Fir Park, he can well understand why bigger clubs like Celtic would be interested in signing him. ‘You possibly have a wee bit more information than I have,’ he said. ‘You look at his performances, the numbers he bashes out every season, his availability, his leadership, how good a goalkeeper he is — not just with his feet, but his hands as well. I think he’s top drawer. ‘Liam would be someone I would love to keep at the club, but there’s a number of factors that come into that. It could hopefully be a big summer for him and we need to wait and see how that goes. But interest from other clubs isn’t something that has been on the agenda with us.’ Motherwell secured their Premiership safety with a 4-1 win over Livingston last Saturday and will continue their push for seventh place when they travel to Ross County on Saturday. While retaining their top-flight status may now allow the manager to move forward with some plans for next season, Kettlewell says there is still uncertainty over the club’s ownership amid talks with American TV executive Erik Barmack. ‘I have spoken to a number of players about the situation moving forward,’ he added. ‘I would like that to happen sooner than it does, but I’m on top of that as much as I can be.’