GET A MOVE ON
Rodgers urges Celtic to seal transfer deals
BRENDAN RODGERS fears Celtic will go backwards unless the Parkhead club move to make some quality signings. Sportsmail can reveal they have made a bid to sign Belgian defender Jason Denayer for a second loan spell after rejecting a £9million offer from Fulham for Dedryck Boyata. The Parkhead club were last night refusing to give up their pursuit of John Mcginn after matching Aston Villa’s £2.7million bid.
speaking before tonight’s Champions League third-round qualifier against AEK Athens, however, Rodgers echoed the frustration of fans over the failure to get deals over the line.
The Celtic boss said: ‘My role in the summer was clear; to keep the players that were here.
‘And, at the very minimum, replace the
players we lost and where we might need improving. ‘So we did the first part with Kieran (Tierney) and Tom (Rogic). Tom re-signed, which is great. We sign Odsonne (Edouard), which is a no-brainer. ‘But there are still a few key areas where I want to bring in quality and, thus far, we haven’t completed on it. ‘Not a lot of players, but we needed quality. And that is something we haven’t got in the building yet to add to the quality already here. ‘You have to do that when you are in a strong position. I am not sure the club has been in a stronger position this summer than what they have been for quite some time.’ Celtic have earned around £60m from successive qualifications for the Champions League since Rodgers arrived two years ago. Senior club sources insist nothing has changed in the club’s transfer policy, pointing to the manager’s public satisfaction with the backing in the last two transfer windows. In an acute change of tone, however, Rodgers admits he fears a process of stagnation unless signings arrive soon. ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he said. ‘We need to complete deals. It is as simple as that. One is identifying the players — which we do — and then get them over the line. ‘We’ve lost players, so the bare minimum we need to do is replace that. ‘We’ve lost Stuart Armstrong and haven’t got a replacement yet. Patrick Roberts has gone out and we haven’t got a replacement yet. These are areas we need to complete deals on.’ Celtic last night tendered a fourth bid for McGinn after three bids — all below Hibs’ asking price — were rejected.
Sportsmail understands Celtic believed they had a verbal agreement with the player as recently as last weekend. Offered £23,000 a week by Villa, however, McGinn is weighing up a move to the English Championship instead. Asked if supporters were justified in feeling Celtic might have met the Hibs asking price sooner, Rodgers responded: ‘150 per cent. If you open your door to players and they have an opportunity to go through that door and have a look and see there are other good clubs with facilities that are equal — and probably better — than what is here, then you risk the chance of them not coming back though the door. That is the gamble you take if you wait.’ Rodgers denied any personal frustration over the situation, insisting: ‘I am fine. Whatever I feel will always be private. I will never speak openly on that.’ Admitting he still hopes to sign some players after the English transfer deadline closes at 5pm tomorrow, he added: ‘I would hope so. We identify the targets and we just hope that they can be completed.’ Defender Denayer is the target for a year-long loan after his agent held talks with Manchester City over his future yesterday. The 23-year-old, who spent the 2014-15 season in Glasgow, has since spent time at Sunderland and Galatasaray and is understood to be lukewarm on a return to the SPFL.