Brendan Rodgers spoke the media this afternoon and said there was nothing to report in terms of incomings to the club, despite the recent spate of stories in recent days linking the club to various people. Ryan Fraser and Daniel Podence have been reported as being wing targets, whilst the rumours around Kieran Tierney’s much wanted return rumbles on.
The Celtic boss has managed to bring several new faces into the club this summer from various quarters. Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Korean duo Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeok-kyu, as well as Gustaf Lagerbielke have come through the famous Parkhead gates, whilst we have said goodbye to Portuguese winger Jota in a record-breaking transfer deal, Carl Starfelt who left for Celta Vigo in La Liga and Aaron Mooy called time on his playing career.
There has been some anxious murmurings from some amongst the support who are still uneasy about the lack of starting XI quality players signed and have argued we are weaker than we were last year. Rodgers was quizzed on the two Premier League wingers this afternoon and said: “No, none at all.” It will be disappointing for those who are really eager for us to splash more cash on a replacement for Jota and an upgrade at both the goalkeeping department and left-back berth.
The Irishman did go on to give an insight into how things are conducted behind the scenes these days at the club in terms of scouting and recruitment, saying: “It’s pretty simple in terms of how it works. Ultimately, I will develop and coach the players the club provide me. And then the process of the club providing me players is that we have a great network of scouts headed up my Mark (Lawwell) who has done a fantastic job working within the model of the club which allows the club to be sustainable and successful at the same time.
“They have a pipeline of players there that all fit in and it’s picking the profile that fits us best and of course I have a role in that. But they do a lot of the great work, watch players over numbers of months so that they have various players in each position. So whenever we do lose one there is a replacement to come in, like you see with Gustaf (Lagerbielke). But it’s not always straightforward, it always takes time. Ultimately I will coach and develop the players I’m provided.”
With over a week left in the transfer window, one hopes that the club have something up their sleeve for this coming campaign. We are well equipped for the Scottish Premiership competition, but the problem is European football if we have any real ambition to get out of the group stages or even finish third in the four-team sections. However, it must be remembered that Rodgers is by his own admission a development coach and that’s what he did during his first spell in charge of the club too.
Paul Gillespie
He should keep Rocco Vata.
Does he have the authority to do that now…??…Or does he do what he’s told…??…Not sure what’s going on here now.