Ademola Lookman could’ve been lining for the Hoops in Bergemo on Tuesday night had he made the move to Glasgow during Rodgers’ first tenure in charge.
The Celtic boss almost secured the services of the speedy winger during his initial tenure with the club. At that time, Lookman was making waves with Charlton Athletic in England, showing promise that caught Rodgers’ eye.
Rodgers’ attempt to bring Lookman to Celtic didn’t materialise due to financial constraints.
He vividly recalled the efforts made to persuade him during a meeting in a London hotel ahead of the reunion with the player he eventually signed.
The story didn’t end there for Rodgers and Lookman. The pair would cross paths again when Rodgers managed Leicester City, where he had another chance to sign him during a loan spell from RB Leipzig.
Rodgers said: [Celtic TV] “How close was he to signing? Close in the fact that he was really excited by the project of Celtic. I met him in a hotel in London and we were looking to convince him to come. Sadly, we just couldn’t get to the levels that Charlton wanted for him.
“But the club did everything they possibly could at that time. He was at Charlton at the time, he wanted to join a big club. He didn’t feel those pressures and everything of why a player would want to come to Celtic.
“Charlton clearly were wanting to get as much as they possibly could for him. We spoke to him, from a personal perspective. It was a move that should have helped him and his representatives. He was very clear on that.
“But obviously it was a financial sum in the end. I think he went from maybe £11 million or something to Everton. It just drifted away from us. Financially it was a challenge on the fee. But wages and everything else the club could do. The player was keen in that moment. That’s as close as it got.
“We’ve stayed in contact and he’s such a good guy, brilliant player. We wanted to sign him at Leicester at the time, with the chance to take him. But sadly we couldn’t sign any players that summer. Lee Congestion (the former Celtic recruitment chief now in Italy) then took him here to Atalanta. He’s now a club legend.”
It will be Alistair Johnston who will be tasked with attempting to keep the speedy winger quiet on Wednesday night.
Lookman has a goal and an assist in his opening two games in the Champions League. In the Serie A, he has two goals and two assists in his first five matches, so the winger is on great form heading into the match.
