Brendan Rodgers says Celtic will be improving ‘if they can’ in January.
And while the boss appeared keen to temper expectations over a busy window, all the signs are hinting the Hoops WILL be active on the signing front this winter – specifically to strengthen two key positions. Rodgers was speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Ross County where his team will look to hammer home their growing advantage at the top of the Premiership. They spent big in the summer and it’s paying off domestically and in Europe, on track for another hugely successful season under Rodgers.
But he knows well the dangers of resting on your laurels when things are going well. In the summer he made it clear he wanted a new third-choice striker, a younger player to plug gaps when Kyogo and Adam Idah aren’t available or need a rest. Rocco Vata was earmarked for that position before his move to Watford and currently it’s Daizen Maeda, normally a starter on the wing, who is seen as the third man to lead the line.
He was asked if Celtic plan to dip into the market during the winter and said: “Like everything, we would like to improve if we can. Firstly, I’m seeing the improvement of this group of players and this team here, so we brought a number of players in. But of course, every window where you can, if you can improve and the right players are available, then we would certainly look at it. But there’s a lot of time for that.”
“We’ve been quite busy. It’s always ongoing, isn’t it? Even if we’re not just looking for January, it’s beyond. We get meetings this afternoon around our young players and looking at that strategy. So it’s ongoing. I always say you can’t wait for the future to plan for the future. You’ve got to be looking at it now to look forward, and the club’s in a great place, we’re in a great moment, but we have to always look forward.”
He wouldn’t commit, and wouldn’t have been expected to, but the undeniable signs are there that there may be a new arrival or two. The Daily Mail report that they’re eyeing two signings in January, a new striker and a new left winger. That squares with Rodgers’ public desire to land a new frontman, and with suggestions that Luis Palma could be on his way.
The January market is a difficult one to do business in but there’s value there. Four of Celtic’s current strongest XI, in fact, were winter recruits. Maeda, Reo Hatate and Nicolas Kuhn are among the recent success stories that arrived mid season, and perhaps most topically Alistair Johnston, who Rodgers made time to rave about during his Friday press conference. Kuhn was a Rodgers recruit almost 12 months ago, and is benefiting now from the six-month bedding in period that afforded him. It’s that type of forward-planning which Rodgers hinted at that could stand the club in good stead for the months and years ahead.
On the topic of Johnston, who was stellar during the week against Club Brugge, Rodgers said: “You evolve and develop with time and patience. The encouragement of him going more forward than coming inside, we have a full-back that does that. But sometimes the game you play doesn’t need both coming in. Sometimes they need to be in the half-space, so it just depends. But either way, we want to attack, we want to score goals. I think if you look at our records, we score goals, we create many opportunities.
“For me, I’ve always liked the teams for the goals to go around the team. Whether it’s wingers, strikers, midfield, press, full-backs, or centre-halves, it’s a collective responsibility. For me this year, he scored early on and he’s got that love and feel that you get when you hit the back of the net. He looks a threat in the games.”