Celtic-linked Josh King's future is up in the air after Carlo Ancelotti revealed he'd have to wait until the summer before a decision is made on his Everton future.
The Italian manager would not confirm whether or not the Norwegian striker would be handed a new deal.
King, reportedly a target for the Hoops should Eddie Howe be the next manager in charge, has been nothing more than a bit-part player for the Toffees this season, making just 10 appearances, most of which came from the bench.
Richarlison and top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin are well ahead of him in the pecking order and he could be looking for a move out of Goodison Park in a bid to play more minutes.
And, with his current deal running out in the summer, Ancelotti was coy on his future. He said: "I think at the end of the season we are going to talk about if he can stay, if he can have a new contract with us or not. We have to take a decision at the end of the season.
“In the last few weeks he had a small problem on his back and so was not available to train properly. He was back today after two days off, but his condition is quite good. He didn’t have a possibility to play a lot for my technical decision, because there we have a lot of options. He played some part of the games and was good, I have to say. In training he’s absolutely ok, really serious and really professional."
We told how the Scottish Sun claimed Howe was considering a move for King as his first transfer in the new job. However, with Howe not yet in the door, it is unknown whether or not Celts will still be willing to swoop for former Bournemouth striker King.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here