Exclusive:Celtic Boss Brendan Rodgers To Accept Brighton Call If Celtic fc fails to meet His Demands

Emmanuel Oryiman | June 2, 2024 | Celtic fc | No Comments

Brendan Rodgers has been tipped for a move away from Celtic just one year after arriving.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has been tipped for a return to the Premier League. Rodgers has only just returned to Celtic Park after four years or so down South with Leicester City, and what a return it has been.

The Northern Irishman has overseen a double-winning campaign with a Premier League and Scottish Cup title in the bag. Celtic have maintained their dominance domestically, but Rodgers and his men will want to have a better run at Europe next term. But as Celtic look to begin preparations for next season, there are some rumblings of Rodgers returning to the Premier League.

A number of clubs down South need new managers this summer, and one of them is Brighton after they mutually agreed to part ways with Roberto De Zerbi. The Seagulls seemingly felt the need for a change, while De Zerbi has bigger ambitions than the Amex Stadium.

As Brighton scour the market for a new boss, Jeff Stelling has tipped Rodgers for the job, believing he would be the perfect fit for the South Coast club. He said on talkSPORT: “I have no idea if Brighton have an interest or not. But Brendan’s reputation with young players, well that would fit the bill at Brighton absolutely perfectly. However, we shall see.” Rangers legend Ally McCoist also had his say, adding: “There is an element of me that thinks Brendan will want to move on again. I genuinely believe that. Of course he’s had a very successful season winning a league and cup double. Goes without saying. And his CV once again is back up there.

“We’ve seen in recent years, Scottish teams participating at the very, very top level and it is bordering on impossible for them to compete in the Champions League. And I just think Celtic would be the exact same again next year. I know for a fact there is still an element of some of the Celtic support – no matter what Brendan does – will not be happy with him back at Celtic for the way they see the way he left in the first place. For me, I think Alistair (listener) makes a great point and it would not be a shock at all to me if Brendan moved on and moved back south.”

One important component to Rodgers staying on at Celtic could be the level of investment that the board commission for his squad. Speaking after the Premiership season drew to a close, Rodgers said: “This season has been a real challenge. The squad is openly not as strong as I would have liked it to have been. What the players have given me has been absolutely brilliant but our job going into next year is to be stronger. Much stronger. But that’s something that is well under way.”

He added: “There’s definitely certain positions we would want to have finalised sooner rather than later. Ideally, if we can do that it would be great but what’s really important for us for this summer is getting the level of quality that I want into the squad. That will be absolutely key for the growth of this team.

“The guys this season have been absolutely fantastic but next season we need more depth in the squad. I go back a little bit to my past here – I was going away to Ross County and making eight changes and I was bringing guys like Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie into that team. These guys have shown they are Premier League quality.

“I remember taking the team to Dubai at our training camp and the second team beat the starters 5-0, and that gave me great food for thought when we came back for the second part of the season. And it was a proper game of football. So that told me the depth that’s required and I think that’s something that’s definitely required here. We probably lost a bit of that in the summer and there’s no doubt we will need to restructure that. We have some fantastic players here and we want to add to that.”

The good news for Celtic is that Rodgers is under contract until 2026, and he has shown no signs of wanting to leave having only returned last summer.

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