The chips are beginning to fall for the runners and riders for the Celtic management job, as the Bhoys pursue Brendan Rodgers and look to finalise an agreement.
Celtic are widely reported to be on the verge of sealing Rodgers’ return, with an announcement expected soon. There’s been a lack of real updates over the last 24 hours, but none of the reporting has changed – the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss is expected to be back in the Celtic dugout.
That’s left other names linked with the job sorting out their futures elsewhere. One of them – Enzo Maresca – could well end up in Rodgers’ old job, which is an indication of how much crossover there is in the current manager market.
Sky Sports report that Maresca has reached a verbal agreement with Leicester as they begin a quest to return to the English Premier League following relegation. Maresca’s links with Celtic were pretty noisy, a result of him having been a previous candidate in 2021, too.
Another man linked with the post – Kieran McKenna – has today signed a new long-term deal at Ipswich Town, ending any speculation he is on the move. McKenna has just earned a promotion to the Championship and likes his team to play entertaining, winning football. That was enough to put him on the radar of the Celtic board as they built a longlist of candidates.
Brendan Rodgers always looked the Celtic front-runner
It seems clear at this stage that Celtic were always the most serious about Rodgers. The biggest element of doubt was regarding his desire to return to Glasgow. It was initially reported he was keen to take time out of the game following his Leicester spell.
However, it seems Dermot Desmond and the rest of the Celtic hierarchy have managed to convince him that the time is right to return to the Bhoys. The sooner that the club manage to be in a position to announce it, the more settled the Bhoys support will be.
Then we can look forward to an exciting summer of recruitment, transfers and squad building.
In other news, Former Celtic defender lands multi-million-pound move.
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