Celtic want a new centre-back in January – Rodgers eyeing ‘availability’ and ‘affordability’ could push the Hoops in the direction of Manchester City again.
The January transfer window is just two months away and although Celtic have far and away the strongest squad in Scotland, there are a few positions that Brendan Rodgers could do with strengthening.
A new centre-back could come in handy, injuries suffered by Dedryck Boyata, Erik Sviatchenko and Jozo Simunovic this season stretching Celtic’s squad to the max. And the Scottish Sun claims that a new defender is indeed also high on Rodgers’ list of priorities.
“I will look to go into the market in January. When you are winning and strong, that’s when you have to strengthen,” the Northern Irishman said.
“There are one or two areas we want to strengthen, but it’s always about availability and affordability.”
Questions will now inevitable turn to who could be on Rodgers’ radar in the New Year. With ‘availability’ and ‘affordability’ on his mind, perhaps the Celtic manager could once again delve into the Premier League loan market to enhance his options.
And Tosin Adarabioyo certainly fits the bill. The Scottish Sun reported in April that Rodgers wanted to bring the highly-rated Manchester City youngster to Parkhead with his contract due to expire – only for the youngster to ink a new four-year deal just a few weeks later.
Since then, however, the 20-year-old has only featured once in City’s first-team – the EFL Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last month. With Adarabioyo clearly well down the pecking order at The Etihad, a short-term loan and regular first-team football at Celtic could be beneficial.
It certainly worked for his fellow City prospect Patrick Roberts.
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