Club give former Celtic favourite 'fitting send-off' amid Hoops return rumours

A potential Celtic summer target has seemingly said goodbye to his current club with the end of the season just days away. Aberdeen star Jonny Hayes is coming to the end of his contract, and on Wednesday night, he played what looks to be his last home game as a Don.

Aberdeen are yet to confirm whether Hayes will pen a new deal, but the writing seems to be on the wall, with the club posting a video on their X account of the 36-year-old being applauded by the home fans - who were singing his name - after the game, while he and his children circled the pitch. A visibly emotional Hayes was also given a guard of honour by his teammates to exit the pitch.

Hayes appears to be heading for pastures new, and there are suggestions he will hang up his boots at the end of this season. That’s where the Celtic links come in. According to The Sun, Hayes is under consideration for the Celtic under-18s job as he potentially transitions from being a player to a coach.

The report has claimed that former Blackburn Rovers star Charlie Mulgrew is also an option for the post, which was vacated by Stuart McLaren recently. Hayes is well-known to Celtic after he won the treble with the club in 2020, although he didn’t manage as many games as he would have liked in his three years at Parkhead, making 42 league appearances in all.

The key part is that Hayes worked with Brendan Rodgers during that spell, and while he would be managing his own team, he would still likely meet regularly with Rodgers to discuss players coming through the ranks. Before any of that, though, Hayes must decide on whether he wants to continue playing,, and he is likely to make his decision public in the coming weeks.