Celtic have a years option on Darren O’Dea’s contract.
The defender has spent the last three seasons on loan at Reading, Ipswich and Leeds United and is set to be in the Ireland squad for next months European Championships.
It was thought that O’Dea would be a free agent at the end of the season but Celtic can exercise the option on his contract meaning that a transfer fee would be needed to complete any transfer.
“Celtic have a year’s option on me and they have to make it known before the end of May whether they will want to exercise that,” O’Dea told the Evening Herald.
“I can’t do much until then, if Celtic don’t take that option I will be a free agent and it should be easy enough to get a new club, it’s just down to me to decide what to do.
“If Celtic do take up that year’s option then it’s more complicated because they would be involved in terms of what happens next,” he says.
“I’m 25 now so Celtic wouldn’t be entitled to compensation if I went on a free, so what they could do is take up the year’s option and then try and sell me, which they could well decide to do.
“In January there were a couple of options in terms of a move but I had signed for Leeds for the season so I couldn’t go in the end.
“I played 40-odd games for Leeds, I played a lot of the internationals so I feel as if I’m in a strong position, if Celtic don’t take up that option on me I’d be confident of finding a good club but I’ll only find that out when Celtic make up their minds.”
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I think it’s time for O’Dea to go. We’ve had some major defensive problems for a couple of years and each manager has subsequently loaned him out. I like the boy but I don’t think he’s good enough.
I most certainly let him go and find his true level.
25 and still to hold down a first team place, no pace and a bad habit of ball watching. I’m sure he could do a job for someone though.