Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers hasn’t appeared entirely happy of late.
Pundit Charlie Nicholas has told the Scottish Daily Star (02/10, p44) that he thinks Brendan Rodgers will leave Celtic soon – possibly for Aston Villa or Newcastle United.
Celtic have thrived under Rodgers since he replaced Ronny Deila in 2016, as they won the treble in 2017 and 2018 with the Northern Irishman at the helm, dominating Scottish football.
However, the last few months have seen something of a sea change at Celtic Park, started by a disappointing summer transfer window, with Rodgers seemingly not being backed in the market.
Celtic then crashed out of the Champions League qualifying stages at the hands of Greek side AEK Athens, and ended up selling Moussa Dembele to Lyon on deadline day in August.
With defeats to Kilmarnock and Hearts already this season, Celtic haven’t impressed – and Rodgers’ relationship with chief executive Peter Lawwell has been called into question.
Now, Sky Sports pundit Nicholas – a former Celtic ace himself – has told the Scottish Daily Star (02/10, p44) that he thinks Rodgers may not even still be in charge at Celtic Park beyond January, and touted three potential destinations; Leicester City, Newcastle United and even Championship side Aston Villa.
“I am not sure Brendan Rodgers will still be Celtic manager come the end of January,” said Nicholas. “It looks as if the relationship between Brendan and Peter Lawwell is broken. He is a top manager and there would be no shortage of clubs who would be keen to land him if he was to indicate he wanted to leave Celtic Park.”
“Clubs with big potential like Leicester City or Newcastle United could become available, or something even bigger. These clubs would be interested in Brendan, and another for me is Aston Villa. You may ask why he would leave Celtic for the Championship. But Villa are a big club, and Brendan could see it as a major project to go on and create another legacy,” he added.
Villa boss Steve Bruce is under huge pressure, and that job may well be available soon if their results don’t improve quickly, though it does still seem unlikely that Rodgers would trade in European football for Villa Park, even if Nicholas is right about their size and history.
Leicester’s Claude Puel was backed with signings over the summer but his side’s inconsistency leaves him vulnerable, but a move to Newcastle would be a major shock given the lack of backing for Rafael Benitez, and Rodgers may feel that he would be walking into the same situation as what he is currently experiencing.
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