Scottish Premiership champions Celtic won’t be signing the Swansea City defender Joe Rodon – but what about Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna?
3-0 and 5-0 wins in the last couple of days will not overshadow the problems facing Celtic right now. The January transfer window cannot come quickly enough with the lack of quality at centre-back an ongoing problem for Brendan Rodgers.
Jozo Siminovic and Jack Hendry do not appear to be the answer, Dedryck Boyata looks set to leave and the impressive Filip Benkovic could be bidding farewell in January with Leicester holding the option to re-call their loaned out £13 million man.
So Joe Rodon’s expiring contract gave Brendan Rodgers something to hang his hat on.
The Sun reported that the Celtic manager had made regular checks on the 21-year-old Swansea City centre-back, who has been a revelation in the Championship this season and boasts that blend of impressive technical skills and fearsome physicality that The Hoops are looking for.
But any hopes of a cut-price deal for Rodon are now dead. The defender has now signed a new four-year deal with his boyhood club, meaning he is tied down at the Liberty Stadium until 2022.
Celtic, then, must now look for other options. And Scott McKenna would be a fine alternative now Rodon is off the market.
The Daily Record reported in August that Celtic failed with a £3.5 million bid for McKenna, who Aberdeen value closer to £10 million. Since then, the competition appears to have increased with West Brom, Wolves and Aston Villa all linked.
But McKenna ticks a lot of boxes for Celtic – he’s young, proven in Scottish football, boasts natural leadership skills and blessed with a potentially massive re-sale value.
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