Brendan Rodgers has revealed Liel Abada wants to stay at Celtic after an honest discussion between the pair.

The Celtic manager sat down with the Israel winger to talk over his future with speculation mounting over a possible transfer exit.

However, Rodgers is now confident Abada wants to stay at Parkhead and take his game to "another level".

There were suggestions Abada could be targeted by Spoting Lisbon, Ajax or Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the summer window.

But, after the chat with Rodgers, Abada is set to remain at Celtic.

Rodgers told the Scottish Sun: “We had a nice conversation, a really open conversation, when I came in. 

“He sat in the office and I just wanted to know what his ambitions were and what he wanted to achieve.

“He is very keen and he really wants to be here to improve.

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“But he also understands there needs to be competition when you are at a top club.

“That pushes you. Overall I like his game when I was watching from afar. I like his runs and he has a real killer instinct in front of goal.

“You don’t get that many goals unless you want to score – which I love.

“There are other areas we can look at to help him get to another level.”

It comes as Reo Hatate admitted last week that he still has ambitions of playing at the highest level.

The Japan international was quizzed on whether he would be keen on playing in England in the future by homeland media outlets.

And Hatate conceded that he would be interested in a move in the future - after links to Brighton and Tottenham in recent months.

Discussing the possibility of a move to England in the future, he said: "If I can take on a challenge, I want to.

"There are things I can't do anything about, but when I lose my ambition, I'm finished as a player. That's a natural thing for a player."