Star that Celtic lost for £250k now rated at £20m as Premier League duo hold interest amid agent switch

Celtic only pocketed six figures upon his exit - and now his latest club could be about to land a £20m windfall with Premier League sides circling.

Stars like Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest have made themselves club heroes after coming through the academy but the Hoops have had some criticisms of late for a similar of talent drying up. One star who came with potential was Rocco Vata, who left at the end of his contract in 2024, with the Hoops pocketing just £250k in compensation as per The Athletic.

English Championship side Watford snapped him up and his performances have started to boom, and before a hamstring injury, had featured 47 times overall with six goals and six assists. Vata featured just six times for Celtic and now the Daily Mail claim Crystal Palace and Fulham are keen on the attacker, and a £20m price tag is on his head. His agents have also recently changed.

How much is Rocco Vata worth?

Reporting reads: “Crystal Palace and Fulham are among the clubs who are continuing to monitor Watford's highly-rated winger Rocco Vata. he continues to forge a reputation as one of the brightest prospects in the Championship .Italian side Atalanta and Germans Eintracht Frankfurt had also sent scouts earlier this season to check on the 20-year-old who has been capped at international level by the Republic of Ireland.

“Watford still value Vata at around £20million. He is making good progress in his recovery and has also switched agents to StormSportsX but the Vicarage Road club have him under contract until 2028 with an extra year's option.”

His dad, former Celtic player Rudi, did not want the winger to leave Celtic but was impressed by how keen Watford were to sign his son. He told the Scottish Sun: “It was a sad day when Rocco left Celtic. It would have been much better if he had stayed, but I’m not selfish. He had to make a decision. He loved Celtic, and we appreciate everybody at the club’s work with him.

Why Rocco Vata left Celtic and chose to join Watford

“Rocco has his own journey to make in his football career. I give my family and my children freedom, because that’s everything in life. I was born in a dictatorship, but I never, ever dictated to my children what to do with their lives. Of course I advised them, I criticised them and corrected them.

“My responsibility as a father is to protect Rocco and give him the best professional advice — and his decision was to leave Celtic. Football works in funny ways. There are many stories of players who have left clubs and come back. That could happen because I don’t think it’s goodbye forever.

“The club who showed the most hunger and determination to have Rocco was Watford. The sporting director was really desperate, so was the owner and the manager too. And they came to Montenegro on July 2, the day after his Celtic contract had expired.”