I get chills just listening to the Celtic fans on TV... so to play here must be incredible

THE transfer window may have closed until January but that’s not to say Brendan Rodgers is unable to welcome waifs and strays to Celtic via the back door, should one catch his eye.

Shorn of a striker in the wake of Moussa Dembele’s stormy exit from the club to Lyon on deadline day, the Northern Irishman won’t be blinded to the fact that players who were free agents on August 31 can still sign on the dotted line.

At Celtic Park on Saturday, it’s inconceivable that the thought didn’t cross his mind more than once. Now 31, Gabby Agbonlahor may not be in his first flush of youth but nor is he ready for the knacker’s yard just yet.

With Rodgers watching on as the teams put together by Stiliyan Petrov and James Milner played in A Match For Cancer, the former England international showed he still has the zip and the strength that, at one point, marked him out as one of the hottest properties in the game.

Rather oddly, given his impressive physical condition and sharpness, Agbonlahor is without a club right now since his 17-year love affair with Aston Villa ended in May.

As a back-up to Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths on a heavily incentivised contract, the addition of a player with his experience would make sense on many levels.

Rest assured, if Rodgers is interested in signing the former Young Player of the Year nominee, he will not be hard to deal with.

‘At the moment, I am considering my options,’ he said. ‘I want to do what is best for me and my family.

‘I have young kids and for me to move to another place and another country is a big decision for me. But I definitely want to play on and I wouldn’t rule anything out.

‘My agent and I will decide what happens next. You would have to speak to Celtic and see if they are interested.’

You could forgive the Parkhead club for remaining sceptical as to the likelihood of such a deal bearing fruit, though. Three years ago, they seemed to have struck gold with the signing of Carlton Cole under similar circumstances.

Yet, it was quickly evident that the former Chelsea and West Ham striker simply had too many miles on the clock. He managed just a handful of appearances before quietly exiting via the back door.

Agbonlahor is the same age now as Cole was then. He has also played in over 350 bruising professional games and made only six appearances for Villa last term, the last of which was on December 23 against Sheffield United. Maybe he, too, has simply felt the rigours of too many long seasons.

‘I’m good and raring to go,’ he insisted. I have been keeping myself ticking over. You have to.’

The thick Brummy accent will one day be heard booming out in the Holt End but the Villa fan who became a sensation under Martin O’Neill is in no hurry to get there.

Like the ex-Celtic boss, given the chance to join the Glasgow giants, Agbonlahor would be inclined to walk up the road to make the deal happen. ‘I have always thought what a great stadium this is and that there is a really magnificent atmosphere here, particularly in Old Firm games,’ he said. ‘When the Celtic fans sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” it always gives me goosebumps watching it on TV. It would be something else to actually play in it and I think every player, if they had the chance to go to Celtic, would take it. ‘Can you imagine playing in front of 60,000 people inside this place? I’d get sent off in the first minute of the game due to the adrenalin and sheer excitement.’ Aside from O’Neill’s Celtic links, the fact that Agbonlahor also counts Petrov, Shaun Maloney and Chris Sutton among former team-mates gives him little option but to lean towards the green side of Glasgow.

‘From growing up watching Old Firm games I would have followed Celtic,’ he explained. ‘I was at Aston Villa with Stiliyan, Martin and Chris and they are all massive Celtic supporters. It is a huge club so even just to come here and play in a charity match is an honour.’

Interest in the Scottish game down south presently stretches way beyond the likes of Saturday’s charity event. While Celtic remain the side to beat, there’s a sense that the league is both highly competitive and becoming more of a magnet for stellar names.

‘It is a tough league,’ Agbonlahor added. ‘If you look at the teams there is Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts who all have some great players in their sides. If an opportunity arose for me to play in Scotland, and the move was right, then I would take it.’

There are no prizes for guessing the managerial change that’s been the talk of dressing rooms south of the border in the past four months. One that adds an extra layer of intrigue for anyone considering dipping their toes into our icy waters.

‘An awful lot more people are tuning into Scottish football down south because Steven Gerrard is now the manager of Rangers,’ Agbonlahor explained.

‘There was huge interest in last week’s Old Firm game. The English press built it up a lot more and it was being shown every minute on Sky Sports. It seemed like everybody was watching that game. I rushed home to see it.

‘I got in at 11am and I knew the kick-off was at 12 but I just wanted to watch all the build-up to the match. It is a really fascinating game.’

One that he’d fancy himself? ‘You can never rule anything out, can you?’ he replied. ‘I will try and speak to Brendan Rodgers and we will see what happens!’

Even if their conversation never stretches as far as he wishes, Agbonlahor can at least console himself with the fact that he scored the final goal in a 3-3 draw on Saturday thanks to an assist from Henrik Larsson.

With close to 20,000 fans in attendance, the winner on the day was always going to be charity.

‘It was a good laugh and it was nice to see some players who I’ve played with before,’ Agbonlahor added.

‘There were some really famous superstars, who have a real history with Celtic, guys like Henrik Larsson and Stiliyan Petrov, taking part.

‘I enjoyed it and it was really nice to get an assist from Larsson for my goal.

‘How many people can say that they have been set up for a goal by Larsson? It is a dream for most players isn’t it?

‘They call him the King of Kings round these parts and it is easy to understand why.’