Brendan Rodgers is now the favourite to replace Claude Puel

By David Walton

January 16, 2019

Celtic could soon have a real battle on their hands in keeping Brendan Rodgers, after he became the favourite to replace Claude Puel.

The Hoops’ double-treble winning gaffer is under contract at Celtic Park until 2021. That means they would be due some heavy compensation if the Northern Irishman was nabbed.

Leicester manager Puel has struggled this season. His side sit in a respectable eighth place, but remain just two points from the bottom half of the table. The Foxes were also embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup by Newport County.

This has unsurprisingly led to increased speculation over Puel’s future.

Claude Puel is under some extreme pressure at Leicester City (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)

Rodgers, however, has always remained loyal to Celtic when presented with potential job opportunities. Only in the summer was the Hoops gaffer being linked with a mega-money move to China.

It was at that point that the double-treble winner reiterated his desire to stay in Glasgow. Rodgers has also consistently spoken about how little meaning money has to him.

Rodgers has plenty of money already

It’s also not as if Rodgers is on pennies at Celtic. He’s already a highly-paid individual, and seems to cherish the importance of being happy at his work.

But it also remains to be seen if the lure of an English Premier League offer is too good to turn down. Rodgers has managed both Swansea City and Liverpool in England’s top division. He has a fantastic reputation down south, and it’s surprising nobody has come in for him already.

Brendan Rodgers is attracting some serious interest from Leicester (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The speculation also makes it even more important that Celtic get what Rodgers wants this month. He’s consistently had digs at the board in the past, and needs to be backed this time around.

With him now being installed as the bookies’ favourite for the Leicester job, he holds all of the aces. Celtic are the ones who now have to step up and prove how much they back their manager.

The club are in desperate need of a right-back, and potentially another centre-back too. It’s time for the club to act and show Rodgers just how much they want him to stay.