Brendan Rodgers made it clear he wants Celtic to strike in the market before the deadline as he bids to bolster several areas of his squad.
With less than three days left of the window, the Bhoys have confirmed the loan arrival of Alex Valle from Barcelona. The La Masia graduate joins for the season in a deal worth £1.3 million. On the same token, bids still remain live for Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels and LAFC’s versatile star Mateusz Bogusz.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Sheffield United will accept Celtic’s £5 million offer for Auston Trusty. There is a chance Mikey Johnston’s potential exit in the other direction could smooth that over, so stay tuned for developments on both fronts.
Despite intense speculation, what happens in each separate pursuit remains to be seen. Rodgers has confirmed his intention to strengthen the group by the deadline, but some supporters have expressed frustration this window over transfer business.
Now, Michael Stewart has outlined what the manager will be desperate for to occur in the market, especially after the Bhoys received a sizeable windfall for Matt O’Riley.
Michael Stewart on Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic expectations
Speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club, Stewart believes Rodgers will expect the entirety of O’Riley’s £25 million fee, which will rise to £30 million inclusive of add-ons, to be spent on the squad if not more before the transfer deadline.
He explained: “They might spend it, but they won’t spend it all on one player. Brendan Rodgers, actually, after the game (St Mirren), a question was put to him, and he took it as if it was going to be spent on one player, and his response was he laughed.
“He laughed and said, it’s that ridiculous a question; you don’t need me to answer it, so that tells you Celtic are never going to spend that on one player, but I’ll tell you what his comments to the written press say, he’s expecting at least that if not more to be spent on the squad to strengthen it.
“I also think back to when Adam Idah signed; he referenced the fact that, perhaps, people see it as being a little bit more than it should be, but he was like ‘he’s already paid that back’ in terms of what he’s done for the club.
“I think you can see already that behind the scenes, there’s a bit of a battle going on with regard to look; there needs to be a recognition of where the market is, even the market that Celtic are operating in is not the £4 million and the £5 million, it needs to be pushed up a level to being closer to the £10 million for the players that are actually going to make any sort of impact.”
Celtic have to support Brendan Rodgers in the market
It goes without saying, but Celtic have their best opportunity in a long time to make an impact in Europe once the Champions League campaign commences next month, taking the direction of a new format.
Despite the usual big hitters being in situ, there are potential ties on the horizon that could provide an opportunity for points, but that is something that can only be achieved by bringing in quality reinforcements to enrich the squad.
Celtic fans have already seen the second-season improvement under Rodgers. Imagine what that could look like if the club were to speculate to accumulate in the window’s final days.
Hopefully, they can equip the manager with the best tools possible to turn their aspirations into a reality.
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