Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has sidestepped questions over the Hoops’ interest in out-of- favour Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser.
After the departure of their key forward Jota to Saudi outfit Al-Ittihad earlier this summer, the Scottish side have been linked with United midfielder Ryan Fraser, following a bust-up with boss Eddie Howe earlier this year which has become the catalyst for his seemingly imminent departure from Tyneside.
The Scotland international last featured for United in October 2022 and spent the majority of last season training with United’s under-21 outfit. Perhaps more tellingly, the Scot has recently been stripped of his squad number due to new recruit from Southampton Tino Livramento now donning the number 21 shirt for the Magpies.
When asked if there were any updates regarding the links between Fraser and Celtic, Rodgers abruptly replied: “No, none at all.”, despite being believed to be keen on the former Bournemouth star.
The 29-year-old began his career in his native Scotland for Aberdeen, rising through the youth ranks and eventually impressed for the first team, before he made the switch to the south coast, putting pen to paper for the Cherries in January 2013 for a £400k deal.
After seven years at Bournemouth in which the winger made 29 goal contributions in 183 games, all spent under the guise of former Cherries and current United boss Howe; the Scot signed a five-year contract on Tyneside ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season.
Despite helping the Magpies avoid relegation during Howe’s first season on Tyneside with an impressive 11th place finish, his playing time has been severely reduced over the last year, as the United boss has made clear he is only concentrating on players “committed to Newcastle”, and feels Fraser “has no future” for United.
Howe openly questioning his commitment to the club, his shirt number being forcefully vacated, and also not being included for the Magpies’ 34-man squad during their recent pre-season tour of the USA, all indicate that the tricky winger’s future certainly lies elsewhere than Tyneside.
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