Kemar Roofe has revealed he had the chance to join Celtic before signing for Rangers, but insists the Hoops never made an official offer to Anderlecht.

The striker, who eventually moved to Ibrox in the summer of 2020, says Celtic approached his agent to sound out a possible deal while he was still playing in Belgium. However, his focus at the time was on seeing out his spell at Anderlecht.

Roofe says he had no plans to return to the UK so soon after his move to the Jupiler Pro League, but a change in circumstances, both at the club and due to the pandemic, opened the door for Rangers.

And when Steven Gerrard’s side submitted a bid that was quickly accepted, the Jamaican international was forced to make a decision that would shape the next chapter of his career.

He said: (Open Goal), “It was Celtic first. Celtic asked my agent about it but I said no because my focus was just on playing for Anderlecht.

“I went there for a reason to play. COVID cut it short so I didn’t feel like I had done enough there. It was like ‘what’s the point in going out to Belgium, moving my whole family and then after a few months move back’. It didn’t make sense.

“Also, a week before that I had spoken with (Anderlecht boss) Vincent Kompany and he was like ‘yeah we still want you here and we are building this and that..’

“In my head, I was going to play the full season again at Anderlecht. And then literally a week later I got a phone call from Vincent Kompany saying ‘Rangers have put in a bid and the club have accepted it’.

“Celtic didn’t put a bid in, they just spoke to my agent and said ‘there is interest there would you fancy it?’.

“The difference was Rangers put in a bid and as soon as that bid went in, the club (Anderlecht) was in a financial situation because of COVID, so they said yes straight away.

“It was then up to me to either say ‘I’ll go to Rangers or stay at Anderlecht'”.

Roofe’s comments give a clear insight into how the transfer played out. Celtic’s interest stopped at early talks, while Rangers moved quickly to get the deal done.

The move was pushed through fast because Anderlecht were under financial pressure during the height of the pandemic, making them more willing to sell the striker.

For Celtic, it was a chance that slipped away. Roofe went on to score important goals for Rangers in league and European matches in his first two seasons at Ibrox.

His account will likely raise questions over whether Celtic should have moved faster at the time, given his proven record in front of goal.