Brendan Rodgers’ first spell at Celtic was a mixed bag of signings.
His first transfer window saw the defining arrivals of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair, both of whom would be integral parts of his entire spell.
Odsonne Edouard and Olivier Ntcham were another two talented young players who blossomed after being brought in to work with the Northern Irishman.
But it wasn’t all perfect. The likes of Jack Hendry, Charly Musonda and Youssouf Mulumbu left the Hoops boss with a fairly dodgy transfer record by the time he left to join Leicester.
Another one of his signings who did not work out has revealed interest from Spanish giants prior to his signing, and the conversation with Rodgers that convinced him.
Ex-Celtic defender on Brendan Rodgers and Lee Congerton interest
Rodgers’ recruitment right-hand man from his first spell was Lee Congerton, who eventually followed him to Leicester.
Congerton departed the Foxes for Atalanta in 2022, and recently had a short spell at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
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But it was Congerton’s time at Hamburg that eventually led to Celtic signing a certain Marvin Compper, the German defender revealed to The Celtic Way.
Compper said: “I was on the lookout for a potential move and was in touch with Real Betis, Sevilla and Celtic, who approached me because Lee Congerton knew me from his time in Hamburg.
“They were interested in me then, so he recommended me to Brendan Rodgers, who watched some tape of me and liked what he saw.
“I had a nice brunch with him at his house and he caught me – he really convinced me to make the move and come to Glasgow.”
“I was on the sidelines a little bit at RB Leipzig – not injury-wise but player-wise, as we had Willi Orban (the captain), Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate all at the club in my position – who all went on to be fantastic and world-class defenders.”
Reflecting on his only Celtic appearance against Morton, Compper said: “Unfortunately, the Morton game remained my only appearance for the club, but I was very happy to have played on that day for Celtic.”
German players to play for Celtic
Compper’s arrival made him the third German to play for the Hoops. Andreas ‘Andy’ Thom was the initial trailblazer when he joined as the club’s record transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 1995.
His namesake Andreas Hinkel was the second, and earned caps for Die Mannschaft during his time in Glasgow.
Jeremy Toljan and Moritz Jenz both had short loan spells at Paradise, and who could forget Nicolas Kuhn, who departed the Hoops for big money in the summer.
Compper finished his playing career at MSV Duisburg, and is now an assistant coach at Swiss side St Gallen.
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