DEMBELE SHOULD BE BACK FOR ROSENBORG
CELTIC With Dembele and Tierney on the radar for Prem clubs, boss
MOUSSA Dembele is believed to be winning his fight to play in Wednesday night’s second round UEFA Champions League tie against Rosenborg.
The French striker was forced out of last week’s comprehensive win against Armernian side Alashkert with a tight hamstring but it is believed the move was mostly precautionary.
Dembele has had an impressive start to the season and has struck up an intriguing partnership with Odsonne Edouard.
Ensuring he is fit for the qualifiers will be vital for Brendan Rodgers’ side who face another three qualification rounds as they seek to make it back into the group stages of Europe’s premier competition.
It is a boost for Celtic who have problems defensively for the game against the Norwegians in Glasgow on Wednesday night.
Mikael Lustig has
CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he is wary of losing players at the last minute as the English transfer window closes earlier than the Scottish window.
Premier League clubs have until August 9 to bring players in and Rodgers, who has seen Kieran Tierney linked with both Everton and Manchester United this term, has accepted that there is always the threat of a big money offer landing towards the end of the window while Moussa Dembele has also never been short of suitors.
However, with the window closing earlier south of the border there could also be greater scope for Celtic to do business with Rodgers believing that this summer will be somewhat experimental as the club look to assess any changes in the market.
Celtic have so far signed Odsonne Edouard with the Frenchman firmly settled into the squad while there has also been a permanent deal handed to goalkeeper Scott Bain. Rodgers would ideally like to supplement that before the window closes and is interested to see how the new format plays out.
“That’s always the threat [in terms of late bids],” said Rodgers. “But you always have to be aware of it.”
“It will probably affect us in some capacity.
“Until we actually experience it for the first time we won’t really know.
“It’ll just quicken up the selling or loaning of players because clubs only have until the first week in August now.
“But we’ll probably know better after we experience it.
“The Premier League clubs will have to make earlier decisions on players. But I can see the concept and it is right.
“When your season starts it’s always difficult when you have guys in the changing room thinking about staying or going.
“Especially when it gets into the last week, it becomes a little disruptive.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers has intimated that he would welcome the addition of VAR to the Scottish game. In realistic terms the likelihood is that costs would make its use prohibitive in Scotland, although the Celtic manager would like to see the technol- ogy added to the sidelines for the UEFA Champions League games.
With Celtic in the midst of a four-pronged assault to make it into the group stages of the lucrative tournament for the third successive time under Rodgers, the small margins that can settle games can be crucial given the massive finances that are at stake.
There was a degree of controversy as the system was pioneered at this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia. Many felt that Argentinian referee Nestor Pitana – who gave France a penalty in the final after watching a VAR replay for a handball against winger Ivan Perisic – called it wrong even after viewing the incident several times.