What Brendan Rodgers has said about Joe Hart as exciting Celtic transfer link emerges

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Celtic fans have been waiting a while for a box office transfer rumour this summer, so the links to Dominik Livakovic have understandably caught the imagination of many.

Sky Sports have reported that the Bhoys are ‘closely monitoring’ the Croatian international goalkeeper, whose arrival would be a box office statement signing. Clearly, there is a long way to go before any sort of confirmation but it shows that Celtic are shopping big this summer.

It’s also stated that the goalkeeping position is a priority one this summer, despite the presence of current number one Joe Hart. So what does that mean for the Englishman – and what has Brendan Rodgers said about him?

Luckily, quotes appeared in the overnight written press today on that very subject and Rodgers spoke quite enthusiastically about his inherited shot-stopper.

Brendan Rodgers on Joe Hart

The Celtic boss said [Scottish Sun]: “It’s for me to assess everything but I have always liked Joe. He’s 36 but he trains so hard every day and he’s a great influence around this changing room. That will be really important and you can never underestimate that.

“He is undervalued in terms of what he can do with his feet. I don’t need him to be Ederson at Man City — I just need him to keep the ball out of the net. Then when the ball comes back to him, I just need him to play simple. From what I have seen so far, and from Celtic games in the past, I think he can do that.

“So yeah, that question [of his future] maybe applies for later on, but as I see Joe now, he’s been fantastic for Celtic and a great influence. Like I say, I will assess it over time.”

While it’s praise for Hart, it’s also quite diplomatic. Nothing is ruled in or out here. There’s no declaration that Hart will definitely have the jersey going into the new season. So this reported Livakovic interest isn’t actually contradicted by anything said.

At the same time, if a move for the right goalkeeper doesn’t come off, you get the sense that Rodgers would be happy to continue with Hart. It’s a hard position to recruit for, so unless there’s a genuinely exciting move in the offing, Hart could well be in place by the time Ross County rolls around next month.

In other news, The Celtic squad is being taken to the limit in Portugal.