FORMER Liverpool defender Danny Wilson has dismissed talk linking him with Celtic.
And the Hearts skipper insisted his priority remains, for the time being, with the runaway Championship winners as he concentrates on the run-in to the season.
Hoops boss Ronny Deila revealed last week the 23-year-old was “on his radar” as he searches for a new centre-half with Jason Denayer almost certainly returning to Manchester City when his loan deal expires next month. Ronny Deila has throughout the season instructed his scouts to review the talent under Celtic’s noses with several notable players slipping through the net in recent years.
This policy has already seen Dundee United’s best two players heading to Celtic Park and Wilson, like Mackay-Steven and Armstrong, has received glowing reports from the Celtic background staff.
The SPFL champions have already sounded out Nantes defender Papy Djilobodjiat, but the reported £5million price tag will force them to look closer to home.
Wilson, who moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2010 in a £2million deal, was asked about Deila’s comments.
He replied: “I think he was maybe just being polite, I don’t think he really said too much regarding myself and I don’t know if it will come to anything.
“I’m not really looking for something like that at the moment. It’s just something that has been said in the press.
“And I’m sure there will be hundreds of stories over the summer of every player that we’ve got, so it’s not something I’m focused on just now.
“I’ve got to finish the season here and then we’ll see what happens.
”I think you’ve got to be open to anything in your career.
“But, like I say, right now I’m just focused on Hearts and finishing the season strongly. We’ll see what happens in the future, but you never know.
“I expect to be here next season. I’ve not made any other plans regarding that so I’m not looking beyond the season,
“I’m not looking beyond the next game. Whatever happens in the summer will happen.”
Wilson, who had a brief pre-liquidation spell on the dark-side, supported Celtic as a youngster and would have been delighted when Kenny Dalglish recommended to the Anfield club to make the move for the central defender. While it never quite worked out for him at Liverpool, the player may have better luck in the coming seasons at Dalglish’s first club. Time will tell.
A fee of around £400,000 would not worry Celtic too much and would be most welcome by Hearts who had a CVA accepted, accepted relegation with good grace and built a young Championship winning side on a fraction of the budget of their rivals.
