POWER PLAY

New strikers are high on Rodgers’ January wish list

BRENDAN RODGERS admits he may attempt to sign two new strikers in January as Celtic prepare for the knockout stage of the Europa League.

As things stand, Rodgers has one fit and available front man in 20-year-old Odsonne Edouard, who is again likely to lead the line against Hibs at Easter Road today.

With Leigh Griffiths out for an indefinite period as he deals with personal issues, Rodgers admits he is asking too much of the young Frenchman, signed for a record £9million fee last summer.

Rodgers had intended to enter the season with three strikers but the sale of Moussa Dembele to Lyon happened too close to the August transfer deadline for a replacement to be secured.

With Griffiths unlikely to play until after the winter shutdown, the Parkhead boss will seek reinforcements next month.

‘There’s no doubt we’ll look to sign a striker and we might need two,’ said Rodgers. ‘Because we wanted three strikers.

‘We know we can’t go through the number of

games we have and at the intensity at which we play with the same striker.

‘So we will definitely look at that. It’s always been a focus but this narrows our focus.’

Edouard looked out of sorts as Celtic stumbled to defeat by Salzburg in the final Europa League group fixture on Thursday, but Rodgers had no forwards on the bench to turn to.

The £20m sale of Dembele was the final blow of a wretched summer window for Celtic in which the club failed to make the Champions League group stage and a host of targets including Cristiano Piccini, Scott McKenna and John McGinn were missed.

Rodgers remains intent on securing a right-back and centre-half but Griffiths’ situation has made the need for at least one new forward the priority.

The club’s model has been to recruit young players with resale potential but in this instance, the manager will not rule out adding a loan player.

Rodgers added: ‘We have to look at whatever is available. It’s hard because, if a team has four strikers and they play with a front two, they probably don’t want to lose any of them.

‘So it’s just going to be about availability. January is a very hard window in which to get players in. But we will definitely have to reinforce.’

Question marks remain about Scott Brown’s future at the club beyond the summer, but the skipper is likely to play a key role as Celtic negotiate a congested fixture card before the end of the year.

The painful and potentially serious injury sustained by Ryan Christie in midweek means there is at least one midfield place up for grabs as the champions head to Easter Road to face Hibs this afternoon.

Rodgers would also like to give Callum McGregor a rest. If selected, the Scotland midfielder would be playing his 40th match of the season today.

Both Brown and Olivier Ntcham have struggled to regain their places after recovering from injury but each added presence to Celtic’s European performance in midweek from the bench.

‘Those two have always been important,’ added Rodgers. ‘The team has been in great form and rhythm, so for them to come in and have that strength is important.

‘The players have put in such a big effort. On Thursday, I thought we were a bit tired looking at times. We have played a season’s worth of games up till now and we are not even at the halfway point.’

The winter break will afford Rodgers the chance to give his players a few days off before they jet off to a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. He added: ‘The players deserve all the credit — you can understand why they are a bit leggy but it also shows the character of the squad.

‘They’ve kept going. When they are pushed they keep going.’