Celtic were linked with a summer move for Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, but do they still need him?
With very little to complain about during Brendan Rodgers’ first season at Celtic – certainly, at a domestic level – it is fair to say that the Hoops probably did not need to enjoy the busiest of transfer windows this summer.
The Bhoys made just five signings and one of those deals involved Patrick Roberts returning to Parkhead for another loan spell.
But while Celtic probably did not need to do much, Rodgers reportedly did hope to bolster his squad even further, with The Sun reporting back in June that the Scottish Premiership champions were keen on landing Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, who was brought to Anfield during the latter stages of Rodgers’ tenure.
Of course, Gomez would remain on Merseyside this summer and has since forced his way into Jurgen Klopp’s plans, making five Premier League appearances so far.
So will Celtic feel that they no longer need to sign the 20-year-old?
When the Hoops have every player fit, they may perhaps feel that Gomez may have been a luxury that was almost unnecessary given the fee that he may have cost had Celtic attempted to bring him in permanently.
However, with the Bhoys lacking depth at centre-back at times this season due to injury – Nir Bitton has had to drop into the role on a couple of occasions, while Jozo Simunovic has now torn his hamstring, according to the Daily Record – having Gomez in the ranks would have undoubtedly provided Rodgers with a boost, especially heading into their Champions League double-header with Bayern Munich.
So while Gomez may have been a player that Celtic would have fancied their chances of being able to cope without, the way their season has panned out so far just hints that Rodgers may be ruing not landing him in the summer as they could certainly do with him now, and going back in for him in the future will be a big ask as he continues to feature for the Reds.
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