According to Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, his side were willing to pay as much as £30million to land Patrick Roberts on a permanent basis, but Manchester City were always going to turn down their bid as they value their youngster way more.
The Hoops eventually signed the 20-year-old forward on loan for the second year on the trot, but deep down, they apparently still harbour a desire to land him permanently.
With his potential, Manchester City remain optimistic that Roberts is a future star, and they aren’t willing to let go.
Rodgers revealed of how Celtic were more than willing to break the bank and their 17-season long £6million transfer record just to convince City during negotiations.
“We would have broken our transfer record for Patrick,” claimed the Northern Irishman manager. We wanted to find the deal that would get him back here. But he’s a Manchester City player.
“We could have offered them £30m and they would have said no. They didn’t want to sell. So the best option was to get him back on loan.”
The England youth international had a splendid time at Parkhead during an 18-month loan spell that ended in May, scoring 15 goals in 43 appearances for Celtic.
With a local treble to defend and a plan to remain in Europe after Christmas, having a player of Roberts’ quality could go a long way for Rodgers.
