Brendan Rodgers appears to be planning to strengthen Celtic ahead of next season.
The Celtic manager has made no secret of the fact that he wants to take Celtic forward in the Champions League, and after this season’s success, Rodgers will want to build on that.
With the Hoops now needing to negotiate a third-round qualifier, it is now more crucial than ever that the Parkhead boss gets his summer business done early if he wants to get Celtic into the lucrative league phase again.
And it seems that after Celtic’s links with £3.5m international midfielder Elvis Rexhbeçaj emerging yesterday, Rodgers is wasting no time in trying to identify targets ahead of another big summer transfer window.
Augsburg manager reacts to Elvis Rexhbeçaj’s link to Celtic
Rexhbeçaj was on international duty with Kosovo and scored in the first leg of the UEFA Nations League play-off place wins against Iceland.
After the 5-2 aggregate win, the Augsburg manager Jess Thorup was asked about his midfielder’s future at the club when he admitted that he’s unconcerned about that right now.
Thorup told Augsburger-Allgemeine, “Everyone has dreams. But right now, it’s all about FCA.
“We have eight more games. Then we’ll see what happens.”
The report also says that the 27-year-old appears to have stalled on signing an extension to his new deal that expires in the summer of 2026.
Rexhbeçaj has made 24 appearances for Augsburg this season and has won the German Regionalliga North Championship with Wolfsburg II.
What Augsburg’s Elvis Rexhbeçaj has said about his future amind Celtic links
Rexhbeçaj has enjoyed spells as Wolfsburg, Vfl Bochum and FC Koln before joining Augsburg in 2022. With his contract expiring in the summer of 2026 it appears that the Bundesliga club are keen to extend his deal beyond next season.
Speaking on his immediate future, Rexhbeçaj said, “I am very happy at Augsburg and the move has paid off in every way.
“I have been a part of the team whenever I have been fit, and I do everything I can to contribute. From a personal point of view, I have remained true to myself and continue to grow. This is helped by the fact that I feel at home here; I have the feeling that I am here for the long term.
“We are definitely having a very good period and have created some distance between ourselves and the bottom of the table. However, we have to keep our feet on the ground; things can change at any moment in the Bundesliga, so we cannot allow ourselves to lose focus.
“We have to stay focused and not get hung up on the table, but take each game as it comes and continue to build on what we have done.
“I want to continue to do everything I can to help us achieve success and continue to progress as a team.”
So it seems that if Celtic does have ambitions to sign the Kosovan midfielder, they could have a bit of work ahead of them to convince him to leave Augsburg.
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