Brendan Rodgers admits he’s still undecided about strengthening in one key Celtic position

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Celtic have plenty of work to do in the transfer market.

Brendan Rodgers has made it clear publicly that he needs more reinforcements, particularly in attacking areas, before the transfer window shuts in September.

Celtic want at least two more wingers signed, and most of the transfer links are geared towards that position.

But what about left-back? Is Rodgers still content with having Kieran Tierney as his first choice and Hayato Inamura as back-up?

• READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers has confirmed Celtic have signed ‘a very gifted young player’ as key strengths outlined

The Hayato Inamura conundrum for Rodgers

The original plan for Inamura was to come in and then likely head out on loan to progress his development.

But his debut against Cork City and subsequent pre-season appearances have left Rodgers undecided over what Inamura’s 2025/26 campaign will look like.

Rodgers was quizzed at his press conference on Friday ahead of the Scottish Premiership opener against St Mirren about whether signing a new left-back is still on his agenda.

But the Northern Irishman admitted he’s still unsure. He said: “Yeah, for guys who have only been playing it for a short time, I think they have done really well. I’m assessing it every day and taking a real close look at certain aspects of his (Inamura’s) game.

“He’s done well, and we have to make sure that by the end of the month, we’ve got it absolutely right for us going forward into, certainly, the next period.

“In fairness to the boy, as I said, his plan was that he’d just… he’d come in and then probably go out on loan. I mentioned that right at the very beginning. That was the plan for him.

“But he’s come in and coped well. But we’ll see over the coming weeks where we’re at.”

Inamura is good enough to be Kieran Tierney back-up

We’ve seen over the course of pre-season that Inamura looks steady enough at left-back, despite initially being heralded as a centre-back.

The Japanese defender is too small to be a central defender in the Premiership, but seems to be comfortable at full-back.

Rodgers was left pleasantly surprised by Inamura’s debut against Cork City, but it’s clear the boss still isn’t fully convinced.

Inamura has between now and the end of August to really prove that he is a signing for the now and not the future at Celtic.