Three players Celtic should offer pre-contracts to after January transfer business

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Celtic brought in seven new signings in the January transfer window.

Celtic were busy in the January transfer window, bringing in seven new faces as Oliver Burke, Timothy Weah, Vakoun Issouf Bayo, Manny Perez, Andrew Gutman, Maryan Shved and Jeremy Toljan arrived last month.

The Bhoys will hope to win the title again and prepare for the Champions League qualifiers, but landing some pre-contract agreements would be the perfect complement to their January additions.

Here are three players inside the final six months of their contracts, meaning they would be able to pen pre-contract agreements with Celtic ahead of signing for free this summer…

Martin Kelly

Celtic may be in the market for a right back this summer, with Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa out of contract at the end of the season. One player who fits the bill to replace Lustig is Crystal Palace ace Kelly, who actually worked under Rodgers at Liverpool. Rodgers cursed Kelly’s injury hell at Anfield but praised him as a ‘quality player’ when speaking to Sky Sports in 2014, but then let him join Palace. At 28, Kelly is of a good age now and has similar versatility to Lustig as he can play at right back or centre back, with a move to give him a pre-contract agreement making perfect sense.

Mike van der Hoorn

Rodgers has a strong relationship with Swansea anyway, but raiding them for Van der Hoorn could be smart business. Celtic are poised to lose Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic this summer, meaning a proven centre back should be a priority. Van der Hoorn has been superb for Swansea this season, impressing not only as a pure defender at 6ft 3in tall, but also in playing out from the back in Graham Potter’s style. The 26-year-old is at the perfect age to step up to join Celtic, and already has experience of playing for a huge club in Ajax. On a free transfer, Celtic may not find much better than Dutchman Van der Hoorn this summer, and should be offering him a deal already.

Josip Drmic

With Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke both only on loan, a permanent forward should be a priority for Rodgers. One player he wanted at Liverpool in 2014, according to the Daily Star, was Switzerland international Drmic. The 26-year-old has been with Borussia Monchengladbach of late, but has been frozen out as his contract winds down. He may not have hit the heights many expected of him after 17 goals for Nurnberg in the 2013-14 season, but he still has time on his side, and Celtic should test the water with a move for the Swiss ace before the summer.