Peter Latchford explains why it’s taken Brendan Rodgers and Celtic so long to find Joe Hart’s heir

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When Joe Hart announced his retirement from football back in February, the Celtic hero gave the club plenty of notice to find his replacement.

Four months on and 20 linked goalkeepers later, it seems that Celtic could be about to sign Kasper Schmeichel as the man to replace the popular goalkeeper between the sticks.

It seems that Celtic are determined to go down the experience route for a new number one after the success Hart helped bring to the club.

And being out of contract, the deal to bring Schmeichel to the club should have been a relatively straightforward one, right?

Not so says former Celtic goalkeeper coach, Peter Latchford.

Latchford: ‘Many things can go wrong’ with Celtic deals

Latchford played for Celtic from 1975 to 1987 and won two league titles and three Scottish Cups. He was also hired as the goalkeeper coach in 2010.

And speaking about Celtic’s hunt for a new number one, Latchford shares why he thinks it’s taken so long to get this point after four long months.

Latchford said [The Herald], “Woodsy [Stevie Woods] and Brendan knew that Joe was going, so you must assume they’ve been working out the right player from that point.

“But the modern game is all about: I like him, I want him, but can we afford him? Does he actually want to come here? There are so many things that can go wrong with that.

“That’s where the negotiations come in. The wife gets involved, she says it’s too cold in Scotland, bloomin’ hell, there are a hundred and one things that could create problems.

“But when it comes down to it, you just have to be patient. You just don’t know how long it’s going to take.

“In my day, the manager did all the negotiations. You went and you talked to the manager. He did it. He did the whole deal, but it’s not done like that anymore.

“There are the agents, the board, the executives, everyone. Both parties will do their homework, and Brendan will be going on a lot of advice from other people as well – especially Woodsy.”

With Schmeichel set for a Celtic medical early next week, you would have to assume that he is set to be named as the number one for next season at some point in the coming days.

If so, then that means Celtic are heading to the 2024 USA Summer Tour with at least one new face in the building.

With rumours abound that Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo could be next, the excitement for the Celtic fans is starting to build as Rodgers finally makes his move in the summer window.