BRENDAN Rodgers has revealed he would like Francis Turley to stay at Celtic after handing the Northern Irish teenager his competitive debut in the Scottish champions’ 3-0 win over St Mirren yesterday. Turley, who caught Rodgers’ eye during pre-season and scored in the 6-4 win over Queens Park, came on for Reo Hatate near the end of the William Hill Premiership match at the SMiSA Stadium. His manager, who is set to lose playmaker Matt O’Riley to Brighton, is keen to strengthen his squad in the final week of the transfer window and has been linked with left back Alex Valle of Barcelona in the Spanish media.
However, he believes the 18-year-old midfielder would be best remaining at Parkhead during the 2024/25 campaign. Read more: St Mirren 0 Celtic 3: Instant reaction to the burning issues Next week will be vital for Celtic's season - their board must deliver “I think he needs to stay,” he said. “I was really impressed with him over the course of pre-season.
He still has a lot of maturation and I think that what we don't need to do is put a lot of hype into a young 18-year-old. Just take your time. He's a talent and we've seen talents leave here because they're impatient.
“I don't see that, being with Francis now over the summer, he signed a new deal, had his family in. They trust the club, which is important in his development. So, for me, it's giving that hope to the young players that they have a place here.
He still has so much physical development to come, but.