Celtic transfer state of play on Idah, Oh, and new keeper as Rodgers tells fans 'we could have NINE signings by now'
The Celtic boss watched his side play out a 1-1 draw with Ayr United to kick off their pre-season preparations
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says he won’t lose patience in the transfer market.
The Parkhead boss is hunting signings as he looks to boost his squad. But Rodgers is adamant he won’t be rushed as he aims to get the right individuals. The Celtic manager says it’s about being patient as he explained: “Yes, absolutely. We could have had nine players in by now if we wanted, but it’s all about the right players that we want.
“There’s no point in us doing anything other than that and sometimes that takes a little bit of patience. In the world nowadays, where everything’s immediate, everyone thinks you can do it straight away, but it’s not always the case. There’s always a collaboration between ourselves and another club to get the players that we want, but I’m very hopeful that come the end of the window, we’ll have a really strong squad and be ready and prepared for an exciting season.
“There’s lots of time. Of course, we would want to get them in sooner rather than later. But it’s always a two-way thing.”
Rodgers hopes to have some new faces on board for the pre-season trip to the USA and added: “That’s the plan. I think every manager would like them in on the first day, but what’s most important is the players we want are targeted. We know what we want to bring in to improve the squad and I’m sure over the coming weeks we’ll conclude the deals.”
Rodgers is chasing striker Adam Idah and negotiations are continuing with Norwich. But he refused to be drawn on details as he said: “Adam’s a Norwich player, so I’m not in the mood to be talking about other players at other clubs. But he’s a player that came in here, did exceptionally well, and we’ll see what happens.”
Joe Hart’s replacement is also being hunted and Rodgers added: “It’s certainly one of the areas that we needed to improve and we’ve known that since Joe said that he was leaving. So, yes, that again, a bit of time, but we aim to have that, hopefully, done by the beginning of the season, for sure. There are loads of names flying about. So, just a good one would be nice.”
Rodgers spoke after Celtic’s 1-1 with Ayr United. Polish defender Maik Nawrocki limped off and the gaffer said: “He felt a little something in his calf, so we’ll just have to see what that is.
“Liam Scales will come into the fold for the game next week. Gus (Lagerbielke) had a twist on his ankle and knee in training so he’s probably going to be a week out. Matt O’Riley is back in, a few of the other guys have started to drip feed in, so they’ll come into the game for next Wednesday.”
Oh Hyeon-gyu came on a sub at half-time, but Rodgers admitted: “There’s some interest in Oh, so we’ll assess that as a club and then just manage that. But you see from tonight, his attitude is great. Let’s see what the coming days bring on that one.”
Rodgers offered outings to several youngsters at Somerset Park and said: “The No.1 objective was about fitness and getting some minutes into the legs. That was good. It was a really good night.”
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