Brendan Rodgers earmarks two Celtic youngsters as pivotal to his future Parkhead strategy

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has enjoyed an interesting time of things since returning to the Parkhead dugout last summer.

With nine Scottish Premiership matches left to play, the Bhoys sit two points behind Rangers in their hunt for a third successive league title.

Nevertheless, the Irishman is already planning ahead regarding summer transfer targets and is excited to put his own stamp on the pool of players he has available at Lennoxtown.

Rodgers stated: “I’m really excited about next season, having now had a look at this group. I’ve seen players who were out for a while and I want to develop this squad.

“There’s a lot of work going on on that front. Is it a chance to put my stamp on it? Yeah, because I think we lost influential players (last summer) who make the game look different.”

Reviewing the squad, inroads will need to be made for a new goalkeeper amid Joe Hart’s choice to retire from football at the end of the campaign.

Due to their unclear long-term status at Celtic, decisions also have to be made regarding loanees Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo.

Naturally, Rodgers will be keen to enact a squad reshuffle once the window opens, and the Hoops have already been linked to several targets, including FC Twente left-back Gijs Smal and Coventry City playmaker Callum O’Hare.

Brendan Rodgers is keen to promote youth players at Celtic

Despite the temptation to splash out on shiny new arrivals, bringing through homegrown talent can be just as rewarding when planning for the coming years.

Excitingly, Rodgers seems to share this vision and has namedropped Daniel Kelly and Rocco Vata as two men who could set an example within his wider aim to introduce ‘high-potential young players’ to the senior fold from the youth system.

He stated [The Herald]: “My life has always been about bringing young players through. We have got some really good talented players. We have to create a pathway for them; that is the biggest thing. That is a real challenge at a big club, but I inherently believe in young players.

“You might not have a team full of them, but you certainly need to have those home-grown players coming through. If there is not a pathway they end up looking elsewhere. That is why I talk about minimising my squad so that your football strategy really becomes top, high-potential young players.”

Rodgers later added: “You see the likes of Danny Kelly and Rocco Vata. Rocco hasn’t had a lot of opportunity, but at least he is now training with us every day, he is in the squad and he is showing up so, so well.

“I am sure there will be other players who will come through. That is the key point of my time here.”

Celtic should always be keen to introduce homegrown talent

Producing homegrown talent is an important endeavour for any football club, not least one that must meet certain squad registration rules concerning their involvement in European competition.

Apart from that, academy players can also help to save millions in transfer fees and scouting costs, though it is hard to balance youth development with the inherent pressure to win every week at Celtic.

Nevertheless, there is a happy medium to be found here, and it would be nice to see a few more Lennoxtown graduates occupy slots in Rodgers’ group that can sometimes fall into the hands of substandard recruits whom the club aren’t able to move on.