Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic are braced for any big money bids landing for the club’s star turns.
The Hoops boss has shrugged off speculation surrounding main men such as Kyogo, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Nicolas Kuhn. Rodgers is determined to keep his squad together for the Premiership run in and the push for the Champions League knockout stages. The Parkhead gaffer will have Kuhn back from injury for tomorrow night’s clash at Dundee but will still be without Daizen Maeda.
But Rodgers insisted Celts have back up plans if any huge offers land for his top performers. He said: “Yeah, all these what-ifs scenarios you have to be. I think the biggest thing is, if a player doesn’t want to be here, then go. And then it’s at that point, then the club has to get the best possible deal. So I don’t ever see the point of keeping someone who doesn’t want to be here.
“For us it’s all eventualities. That’s what we prepare for, whether it’s injuries, whether it’s transfers. I think you always have to be ready, and that’s our message. But for him, at this moment in time, he’s happy, he’s working well, scoring goals, and enjoying his football.”
Rodgers told fans there was no need to worry despite Kyogo’s muted goal celebrations in Saturday’s win at Ross County. He said: “I think you can see he’s well. I can see on a daily basis.
“People will always look into something, he didn’t celebrate enough, or he didn’t do this, or he didn’t do that. “I see him every day. I see his work, I see his intensity – maybe he scores so much that he doesn’t really have to celebrate madly all the time. Or maybe he was too cold.
“But no, he’s just the same guy. There’s always speculation, and I’m not scared of the speculation. There’ll always be wee bits and pieces around him, but no, he’s fine, and he’ll travel tomorrow.”
Rodgers will have Luis Palma back in the squad for Dens after the death of his grandfather. But the winger could be heading for the exit this month – while Rodgers is determined to bolster his squad.
He said: “We’ll certainly try our very best. We want to improve the squad, absolutely. I don’t have a number. I’d love to give you a number, but I don’t have a number, because we may want to, but it might not be possible.
“But we certainly want to add to the squad and give it a freshness, and that’ll hopefully help us going forward. I spoke to Luis just the other day, and he’s a great guy. Everyone loves him here.
“He’s a brilliant lad, works hard every day, trains every day, and probably not getting the game time of what he would like.
“Again, we have to weigh everything up. Our first job is to look after our own squad, make sure that’s ready, and by the end of this month, set up for the challenges for the rest of the season.
“And if that allows some players to go out, then that can and may still happen. But at this moment in time, he’s here and a part of the squad. He’s back now. It was just something that happened overnight.
“I sensed with him the feeling to sit on a coach three and a half hours, going up north, probably wasn’t going to be the best thing for him. So I just gave him the weekend, be with his family, and then reset again after the weekend.
“So he’s come back in, and it’s a hard time for him, losing both grandparents so close. But he’s ready to go again, and we’ll be part of the squad tomorrow.”