Brendan Rodgers’ wish-list this January is going to be interesting, but it appears he wants one in before the Winter break.
Celtic will wrap up their domestic calendar for the first half of the season on December 29th. A match against Rangers at Ibrox will provide a fitting end to the first 19 league fixtures.
The Hoops have looked impressive over the last couple of months as things have finally clicked into gear. Big wins against the likes of St Johnstone, Hearts, and Aberdeen have the club rocking with confidence once more.
Supporters, however, could be set for a further treat as Rodgers confirmed that he wants a signing in before his team head to Dubai for some warm-weather training. Speaking in the Scottish Sun, Rodgers revealed his wish.
“Every manager will tell you that you want to do deals done early if you can.
“Ideally, you want to take players away to your mid-season training camp, bed them in and do some good work with them, and get some feel for mentality.
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“That is ideally what you want to do. So we will see.”
It would be a first
This is an interesting reveal from Rodgers. From the previous two years he’s been Celtic manager, he’s never managed to bring anyone in before the mid-season break. Instead, all action has been done afterwards.
Specific targets have also yet to be revealed, with nobody knowing what’s up the club’s sleeve in January.
With Rangers threatening to form a title-race on current form, Celtic could do with a couple of tweaks to keep them well ahead of their rivals.
Rodgers has used the media before to call out Chief Executive Peter Lawwell over a lack of transfer business in the past. It wouldn’t be surprising if this was the manager’s way of getting in Lawwell’s ear once more ahead of January.
Fans are still reeling from a dreadful summer window. Losing the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Dembele without adequately replacing them reflected poorly on the club.
Dedryck Boyata is the big-name expected to be heading out of the club in January. If that does go ahead, a swift replacement is vital to play alongside Filip Benkovic.
Celtic fans, however, could be in for a treat if Rodgers gets his wish of an early signing. Who that signing would be, however, is just anyone’s guess.