Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he held high-level talks with club power broker Dermot Desmond in Dublin this week, as preparations for the January transfer window ramp up.
With the Hoops looking to maintain their domestic dominance and compete effectively in Europe, the meeting signals an intent to reinforce the squad during the winter window.
Speaking about the meeting, Rodgers revealed that he, along with Michael Nicholson (Chief Executive) and Chris McKay (Chief Financial Officer), joined Desmond to align on strategy and pinpoint areas of potential improvement within the squad.
During his Friday press conference, Rodgers revealed his his week panned out:
“On Tuesday, I flew to Dublin to have a meeting with Dermot, me and Michael and Chris and staff. Just talking about January and what we normally do. Then I got back from that and I watched the B team final. Then obviously back into work. So for the manager and the coaches, we’re always looking forward.”
The focus on the January window comes amid ongoing discussions about where Celtic need to strengthen. After the League Cup triumph and a solid domestic run while impressing in Europe, Rodgers knows the importance of adding quality to maintain momentum.
Rodgers is likely keen to add to the wings, especially with the news of James Forrest’s injury, which will keep him out for 6 weeks. Left-back could be addressed too, with Greg Taylor’s situation able to change at any second.
The timing of reports linking Kieran Tierney with a return to Celtic Park is notable, coming on the same night as Rodgers’ meeting with Desmond. While Rodgers remained cautious about the speculation, he acknowledged that the club is working to improve the squad.
Rodgers said: “Well, Kieran is someone I know really well but there’s lots of players who have been linked with coming to Celtic. We will never speak about a player, especially a young player that’s at another club. But we’ve got work to do, we know that. We want to improve the squad further in a number of key areas.”
