Rodgers is holding out for quality
BRENDAN RODGERS has revealed Celtic missed out on two of his top three summer transfer targets but still hopes to see new ‘quality’ signings before Friday’s deadline.
Sportsmail understands Celtic are ready to return for Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna despite being rebuffed by the Dons, who rejected a £3.5million bid this week. Although they landed Odsonne Edouard for a
club record fee of £9m, the Scottish champions have failed to strengthen in the numbers desired by the manager. And Rodgers, asked yesterday if he was still chasing players, said: ‘Well, the targets I wanted are gone. Two of the three. The third one being Odsonne. He was one we wanted to make. ‘But the two other ones are gone. So, it’s now looking at the necessary quality to come in and help the group.’ Explaining that the remaining names on his list would be ‘cheaper’ than Edouard, Rodgers offered no guarantees on deals being done. ‘Let’s wait and see,’ he said. ‘Time will tell. I think there’s a lot of work going on. It’s clear that we need. But we’ll see. ‘I will be heavily involved. Any recruitment is always about identification of the player. ‘Then you try to bring it together with wages and transfer fees before completion. ‘It’s a collective thing. Let’s hope we can do something.’ Rodgers made it clear yesterday that Dedryck Boyata won’t be sold unless Celtic have another central defender secured first — and that could still be McKenna despite their failed bid. Jozo Simunovic, meantime, will undergo scans on his ankle injury as Celtic’s defensive woes rumble on. The Bosnian limped from Thursday’s 1-1 draw with FK Sudova in Lithuania in a protective boot and said: ‘When I landed, I felt pain inside my ankle. That was the reason I came off, so we will see from the scan in the next couple of days what exactly the problem is.’ Rodgers accused his defenders of lacking concentration, aggression and pride after drawing a game they could have won but for the loss of an awful goal after 12 minutes. ‘Again, a team scores from one chance,’ said Simunovic. ‘It was one free-kick, a perfect ball. But we should react better. ‘It is a big shame but I don’t really know what to say about the chances the opposite team is getting and scoring from. ‘There is no excuse, we have to be better. ‘The criticism just gives us extra motivation to work more.’