The Celtic signings that arrive on deadline day could be thrust into the spotlight very quickly with the derby against Rangers ahead this weekend.
The Scottish champions are said to be pursuing late deals for midfielder Arne Engels and defender Auston Trusty, with the potential for others to join them before the 11pm cut-off.
Sky Sports report that Engels has now completed his medical in London ahead of an £11m move, a record fee for a player incoming to Celtic.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, meanwhile, has confirmed Trusty’s move is set to be announced ‘pretty quickly’ as Rodgers beefs up his centre-back options.
New Celtic players could be ready to go vs Rangers
Speaking in a media conference on Friday, Rodgers was asked if any new players could feature in Sunday’s massive Scottish Premiership derby at home to Rangers.
The Celtic boss said: “Yeah, they could be, yeah. A number of the players we’ve been looking at have been playing and are up to speed.
“We always do an MOT on the players coming in just to see where they’re at anyway but most of the players we’re looking at will be in a good place.”
Engels set to make quickfire debut
It’s unlikely that Rodgers will throw any of his players directly into the starting line-up this weekend but we could see debuts off the bench.
Engels has already started twice for Augsburg in the Bundesliga this term after a lot of summer preparation so he’s undoubtedly ready for minutes straight away.
Trusty is in a similar situation having earned minutes against Wrexham, Norwich City and Barnsley already in the early stages of the season.
It’d be fantastic to see them in Celtic colours so quickly after arriving but the manager will want to ensure he fields a team fully mentally prepared for the high-stakes nature of Sunday’s fixture.
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