Celtic midfielder Lewis Morgan has rubbished the ongoing speculation over his future. The 21-year-old only joined the Hoops from St Mirren in January but he was loaned back to the Paisley club for the second half of the season where they secured promotion to the top-flight. Since then, Morgan has surprisingly been linked with a reunion with manager Jack Ross at Sunderland but the midfielder has now dismissed the gossip.

He said: “The only thing in my head is going into Celtic pre-season, starting on Monday and impressing. I don’t have any eyes on any other club and why should I? It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world I’m at. I’m only focused on Celtic. I suppose you never really know with football, but the plan is for me to go in there in pre-season and try and really stake my own claim to get in the team.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has stuck with a defined set of players to fulfil the duties from the starting lineup and Morgan may have to adjust to opportunities from the bench next term before making himself a regular. The Glasgow giants have been brilliant under Rodgers after securing back-to-back domestic trebles but there is still progress to be made on the European front.

Rodgers’ team have done exceptionally well to reach the Champions League group stage in each of the last two campaigns and the focus would surely be on improving their performances against the elite, should they manage to reach a similar stage next season. Meanwhile for Sunderland, they are typically in a rebuilding phase following successive relegations in the past two seasons and hopefully for the supporters’ sake, they can make a swift return to the Championship. The Black Cats are currently under the new ownership of Stewart Donald, who has yet to sanction any arrivals.