Celtic jet to Astana
BRENDAN RODGERS could sign one more striker even after Patrick Roberts re-joins Celtic, but Erik Sviatchenko may be on his way back to his homeland.
Reports from Denmark suggest that Sviatchenko is set for a £3m switch to Copenhagen after falling down the pecking order at Celtic in the latter half of last season.
However, it is understood that while there is also interest in Jozo Simunovic from Burnley, Celtic are unwilling to sell the player.
There were suggestions of an offer up to £10m coming in for Simunovic but sources have insisted that Rodgers does not want to sell the player, although another central
defender could be added to the squad before the closure of the transfer window.
We understand the Parkhead club is happy to allow their manager to spend more money before the end of this and if a frontman was to become available and he fitted a certain profile, then Rodgers has funds to further strengthen his already strong squad.
Leigh Griffiths is the only fit senior striker at the club with Moussa Dembele sidelined and while Roberts did well when he played through the middle last season, Rodgers would not think twice about adding a natural frontman if the right player came up.
Celtic flew out to Kazakhstan yesterday afternoon two days ahead of the return against Astana on what should be a rare nerve-free night in a play-off because they go there with a commanding 5-0 lead which even their opponents admit cannot be over turned.
However, Rodgers will take nothing for chance and won’t ask his players to simply see out the tie, which would go against their natural game.
“We will go over there to win,” said the Celtic manager. “That is our plan for every game.
“It will be no different going to Astana. We will be in a different state now compared to a year ago when we were there, as we were at home.
“We expect a tough game again, but we plan to win every one we play. I think you saw that at Kilmarnock on Saturday, there is confidence in the players and how they understand the game, so on Tuesday we will be looking for an equally good result
“There is a huge amount of pressure on them. They will know that if they open up and press the game, we have the speed and mentality to score goals.
“We will have a clear mind. We know what qualification brings and the team have been really impressive up to this point. Now we have one more stage to go and let’s finish the job.”
Every Celtic player has carefully stuck to the script in that the tie isn’t over, which is sensible, but Rodgers insisted he wouldn’t feel the need to remind them that there was still a bit of work to do.
“It’s not really hard to keep their feet on the ground,” he said. “Complacency is something we tend to avoid.
“We want to get through, there is this final game to go and we want to achieve that. The fundamentals in the team will be the same.
“That’s why we don’t concede a lot of goals. In all our competitive games for far we’ve conceded once, and that was right at the end of the Hearts match.