ANY Celtic supporters still struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their manager Brendan Rodgers should stop reading now. This column contains nothing that will lift your spirits after yesterday’s dramatic events. You have been warned.
Things have moved quicker than an Oli Burke break down the right wing. No sooner had it been revealed that Leicester City had requested, and been granted, permission to speak to Rodgers and it emerged the two parties were locked in talks. He is expected to be officially unveiled today.
The speed of it all has taken followers of the Scottish champions aback. There has been little time to come to terms with the exit of the man who has led the Parkhead club to the double treble domestically and been responsible for some laudable European results. Emotions are understandably still a little raw.
READ MORE: Rodgers has signed a deal until 2022 after leaving Celtic
The swift appointment of Neil Lennon, still a hugely popular figure in the East End of Glasgow, as interim manager until the end of the season buoyed many. The Northern Irishman is an experienced and talented coach, knows the club inside out and is comfortable with the demands for success. He is, then, well-placed to maintain their push for a third consecutive clean sweep of silverware.
However, will there be more bad news to follow in due course? Could some members of the current Celtic side follow Rodgers down to Leicester in the summer? Might he look to sign Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney, to name just two, in the months ahead? There is, hard though it may be to stomach at this moment in time, every chance.
Rodgers, like many managers, has a track record of taking players he knows and trusts with him between clubs. He worked with Scott Sinclair at Chelsea during his time as a youth coach at Stamford Bridge, signed him when he took over at Swansea City and made him one of his first acquisitions at Celtic.
There are many other examples. Joe Allen (Swansea and Liverpool), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea and Reading), Fabio Borini (Chelsea, Swansea and Liverpool), Shaun Cummings (Chelsea and Reading), Dorus de Vries (Swansea and Celtic), Jobi McAnuff (Watford and Reading), Yves Ma-Kalamby (Chelsea and Swansea) and Kolo Toure (Liverpool and Celtic) all did the same.
Rodgers has inherited a talented squad of players from Claude Puel despite their mid-table position in the Premier League. His predecessor was jettisoned because the owners of the King Power Stadium club felt, with some justification it must be said, that the team had underachieved on his watch.
In the summer alone Puel lavished £25m on James Maddison, £22.5m on Ricardo Pereira, £19m on Caglar Soyuncu, £12.5m on Danny Ward and £11m on Filip Benkovic.
READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers leaves Celtic for Leicester City
It was not, with Ben Chilwell, Hamza Chowdhury, Jonny Evans, Demarai Gray, Harry Maguire, Kasper Schmeichel and Jamie Vardy also at his disposal, unreasonable to expect, even in the Premier League, slightly better than 12th place.
Rodgers, though, will be keen to bring in a few of his own men. He knows that he has left behind a few gifted individuals in Scotland who could complement his existing squad and improve his side. What is more, he understands they are available, by the standards of the English top flight at least, for affordable prices.
He has no immediate need for a left back. Chilwell made his debut for England earlier this season and has picked up five international caps since. But Arsenal and Manchester City have been repeatedly linked with the defender, with the latter being tipped to table a £50m offer for him at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. If he does go, Tierney would be the first name on Rodgers’ shopping list.
Rodgers’ admiration of the versatile McGregor, too, is enormous. Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest and Tom Rogic are other Celtic players who could be of interest.
Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, will doubtless receive calls from a fair few interested parties in the coming months. He will be able to demand top dollar for prized assets. But whoever succeeds Brendan Rodgers may have a tough task keeping this side intact.
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