'That’s a story created outside of the club': Brendan Rodgers has his say on Celtic transfers - now and beyond

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers during a Celtic training session at Lennoxtown.

After months of hype, hope and speculation, the biggest name to walk in the door at Celtic Park this summer proved to be Brendan Rodgers himself.

The accumulation of wealth from securing Champions League group stage football for a second successive season and the sale of players, most notably Jota for around £25m, had given rise to the prospect of the club pushing out the boat to land Premier League-calibre signings to go alongside their Premier League-calibre manager.

The early school of thought was that Rodgers wouldn’t have agreed to return north for a second stint if he wasn’t going to be backed with the level of funds needed to recruit players who could be considered the finished article, the type of talent that would give Celtic a distinct advantage in the title race and make them more competitive in Europe.

It hasn’t turned out that way, however, with this prospective conveyor belt of marquee signings – hoped for by the fans but, importantly, never guaranteed by Rodgers – instead giving way to a raft of low to mid-range signings in the £2m to £5m bracket with the potential to be moulded into something of greater value by the manager.

The last player (expected) in on deadline day – Paulo Bernardo from Benfica – was another with a similar identity to previous permanent arrivals Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Odin Thiago Holm, Hyun-jun Yang, Marco Tilio and Hyeok-kyu Kwon, all in their early 20s and eager to use Celtic as a finishing school before, presumably, moving on to England or mainland Europe. If this prudent pathway is hugely different to what Rodgers was promised when he returned, then he gave no indication that he was excessively agitated as he summarised the club summer’s recruitment business.

“I think every manager will tell you they always wish they could have done more in certain aspects,” he started. “For us there was the question of whether we could improve the depth of the squad knowing some players were going to maybe want to move on. Then there’s the unexpected in terms of Jota and Carl Starfelt. That’s what you’re always looking to balance in the window but I think it’s an ongoing situation here. We would have wanted to improve the squad this window then whatever we couldn’t get – because either the availability isn’t there or the players aren’t affordable – then we move to the next window. But in between times I’ll work with the players who are here and look to develop them.

“You need to have those young players with potential breaking through and emerging. But to pull them through you need experience. You need to have those players who are established to take them through so I’m very conscious of that. There was a story written when I first arrived that there was now going to be £10million and £15million players. But that’s a story created outside of the club and certainly myself. The club has a model that is sustainable and they’ll work to that model. That’s where it’s at and it’s proven to be successful.”

Rodgers has only been away from Celtic since 2019 but believes the transfer market – with the emergence of Saudi Arabia and the inflation-busting salaries still being paid down south – have made things tougher for managers like him. “So many things change and evolve in football and in the four-and-a-half years I’ve been away different markets have emerged to attract players,” he observed. “And also knowing what wages are being paid in the Premier League for players, with the greatest of respect, you maybe haven’t even heard of. It’s a huge challenge for clubs up here to be able to compete with that. There’s a certain market for a player to come to, not so much Celtic but this league, and that’s the reality of it.”

The only new Celtic signing to have been born before 2000 – a terrifying thought if you’re beyond a certain age – is Nat Phillips, hardly Methuselah himself at 26 years old. The Liverpool defender has come in on loan to supply the short-term demand for defensive reinforcements, although Rodgers was coy on whether Phillips would start against Rangers in the first derby of the season. “The red alert for us was the centre-half position,” he added. “That was a challenge for us. Hopefully being able to bring in a player with big game experience and big club experience gives me a greater reassurance in that area, especially with the likes of Cam (Carter-Vickers) being out. Nat will be involved. We just have to see where he’s at. If it’s not for the weekend it’ll certainly be after the international break.”

What hasn’t changed during Rodgers’ time away is the scrutiny Celtic managers face after the slightest of setbacks, like last weekend’s goalless draw with St Johnstone. The backlash will be even fiercer were he to lose the derby but this is nothing new to the former Liverpool manager. “I couldn’t tell you what was said (last weekend) but I can imagine and I can hear,” he added. “It’s a really intense climate up here, I know that. But that’s how it is at the big clubs. The derby is a brilliant game to be involved in and, of course, you always want to be able to come out on the right side of that. That’s our only focus really for this weekend. There are big clubs with big expectations and it’s so important in the pressurised moments, when you are under pressure, to keep that control. But I am experienced enough now to know that you have to keep your poise and rely on your knowledge and expertise to get through.”