Alan Brazil believes that Brendan Rodgers could be tempted to leave Celtic this year, especially if West Ham United or Leicester City come calling.
Alan Brazil has told The Sunday Post that he fears that Celtic could lose Brendan Rodgers to the Premier League before the turn of the year, with West Ham United and Leicester City suggested as potential options that may turn his head should they come up.
Rodgers is now in his third season at Parkhead and there is no question that he has done a remarkable job with the Hoops, winning the domestic Treble in both of his full campaigns with the Bhoys.
But it does appear that Celtic are going to do well to replicate that achievement this year. It is perhaps unfair to say that they have taken a step backwards, but perhaps the players are finding it more difficult to produce the same levels once again this year. Their transfer window did not help their cause.
And Brazil has suggested that he is fearful that Rodgers’ days at Celtic could be numbered, while he added that he could see moves to the Hammers or Foxes as ones that may tempt him to leave his post with the champions.
“I reckon Brendan could walk before the turn of the year,” he told The Sunday Post. “It depends on the right opportunity coming along – that means a decent Premier League job. But there is no doubt in my mind that there will be movement on that front in the next six to eight weeks, which would leave the door wide open.
“In my own head, I’m probably 60/40 that he’ll stay at Celtic,” he went on to add. “But if a West Ham or a Leicester City got in touch, the Hoops boss would have a big decision to make. For me, they are the two obvious clubs that Celtic should be wary of at the moment.”
Could Rodgers really abandon ship in 2018?
It would be remarkable if Rodgers was to leave Celtic midway through the season. The way that he has conducted himself during his time with the Hoops suggests that he would prefer to leave amicably when he does decide to seek a fresh challenge, and that would arguably be much more difficult if he leaves during the campaign.
If Rodgers is at all unhappy with his situation, he has done a very good job of hiding it, so it would surely have to be an incredibly tempting offer to make him consider his position at Parkhead.
The Celtic board cannot get complacent when it comes to keeping Rodgers, but surely it would take a sensational turn of events both sides of the border to make him think that leaving midway through the year is the right move for him.
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