Brendan Rodgers spent a fair amount of time on Thursday talking about Celtic transfer issues.
Recruitment was certainly the main topic of his broadcast press conference, with questions asked about Celtic‘s transfer business during the summer and beyond.
That theme continued in his later sit-down with the written media, with the quotes coming out on Thursday evening.
Rodgers has been speaking openly about Celtic’s transfer strategy — to buy young players, improve them and eventually move them on for a profit. There are difficulties associated with that, but success can also be achieved at the top level, as Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg showed on Wednesday night.
“You know the strategy here. All of you guys have seen it,” Rodgers told the print journalists, as shared by The Herald.
“That is the strategy. You are bringing in young players, you are developing them and getting them to a level. Part of that learning is domestic and European in which they will make mistakes.
“Probably sadly, a little bit, is when they get to that level where they have matured and experienced then you lose them.
“It is what it is. You know when you are bringing in young players that that is a part of the dance really – that they are going to make mistakes. It’s something that hopefully with experience they can get better and improve.
“It doesn’t undermine what we’re trying to do, it’s just the nature of where it’s at. Listen, you can have a group of really young players, it’s just about the level.
“I think Red Bull Salzburg went to Benfica and won 2-0 with a lot of young players, top young players. So that’s what we can aspire to, making improvements and maximising the players that we have and just getting better. That will be the difference if the model is to bring them in young.
“But, listen, experienced players can make mistakes as well. But it’s one where, with young players, they have to go through that learning curve.”
There is plenty of merit in Rodgers bringing up Salzburg as an example of what Celtic should aspire to be. While we are clearly a much larger and more historical club, the Austrians are very similar to us in that they are regular winners of a mid-ranking European league.
Salzburg’s win over Benfica made headlines in midweek and with good reason. The side they fielded was the youngest ever since the UEFA Champions League started in 1992. It had an average age of 21 years and 183 days. (Red Bull Salzburg)
Remarkably, none of the side’s last 20 Champions League goals have been scored by a player over the age of 23.
Salzburg tend to only sign young players, something Celtic are clearly trying to replicate. This summer they spent around £26m on players from the likes of Brentford, Fiorentina and Fortuna Düsseldorf.
They brought in around £67m in sales with Benjamin Sesko and Nicolas Seiwald both moving to fellow Red Bull club RB Leipzig for big money. (Transfermarkt)
This is their fifth season in a row in the Champions League group stage. They haven’t finished bottom in any of their previous four efforts. All while making money and winning ten Austrian Bundesliga titles in a row. Regardless of what you think about Red Bull, it’s a hell of a well-run club.
In other news, Alistair Johnston blown away by Celtic team-mate he’s only just come in to contact with
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