Will Brendan Rodgers’ right-back search lead Celtic to Liverpool’s Jon Flanagan?

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Brendan Rodgers loved working with Jon Flanagan at Liverpool and they could be a perfect match at Celtic.

We may only be in November but Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is already looking ahead to the beginning of next season. With a World Cup in the horizon, the Hoops boss knows that he is in danger of losing a few key members of his squad ahead of the 2018/19 Champions League qualifiers.

And with Mikel Lustig and Cristian Gamboa set to feature in Russia for Sweden and Costa Rica respectively, Rodgers is understandably concerned that his options at right-back could be stretched to their limit in the first few weeks of the campaign.

“Gamboa and Lustig (below) are right-sided defensive players so that’s a key area for us because we don’t want to be left short,” Rodgers told the Daily Record with next season’s gruelling European qualification campaign set to start five days before the World Cup final.

“Tony Ralston can cover but it’s an area we need to consider (strengthening in January).”

The question is, however, who will Rodgers target? Well, perhaps he should return for a player he knows well.

Reunion?

After all, he has revitalised the careers of Scott Sinclair, Scott Brown and co so why can’t he do the same for his one-time Liverpool prodigy Jon Flanagan.

The local lad Liverpool favourite was a key member of Rodgers’ thrilling Reds side of 2013/14 that came within touching distance of lifting the Premier League trophy.

“He’s a terrific boy. I thought when he came in for a few games, this was a kid that can handle it,” Rodgers told the Daily Post in December 2013 after Flanagan netted his first Liverpool goal in a 5-0 thrashing of Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

“And since he came in and played in the derby, where he was man of the match against Everton, he’s been fantastic.”

Thanks to a never-ending series of injuries, however, Flanagan has never managed to nail down a place at Anfield since. And with Nathanial Clyne, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold all ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems he needs a fresh start at the age of 24.

If Flanagan can prove his fitness, however, he has the potential to be a wonderful addition to Rodgers’ Celtic squad and become more than just a useful back-up option in the process.