Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claims the January winter transfer window is Scotland’s most important transfer window, and that he looks forward to further bolstering his ranks when the market re-opens.
The Hoops could make it 63 local games without a loss if they avoid defeat against St Johnstone on Saturday, and despite their absolute dominance in the league, Rodgers wants a defender during the winter transfer.
Not even continental competition will determine if Celtic will do business in January or not, with the boss saying: “If we are in the Europa League doesn’t make a difference in terms of players coming in. We need to strengthen.”
Rodgers’ preferred central defensive pair Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata have hardly played alongside each other this term due to injuries, leaving the Northern Irishman to mix and match at centre-back.
Nir Bitton, Kieran Tierney, Mikael Lustig and Kristoffer Ajer have all been deployed therein instead at various points of the campaign, leaving Celtic in dire need of a traditional centre-back.
The club are scouring Europe and beyond for the best options available, with Rodgers confirming that: “I will look to go into the market in January.
“When you are winning and strong, that’s when you have to strengthen. It’s inverted in Scotland, arguably the most important window here is January.
“There are one or two areas we want to strengthen, but it’s always about availability and affordability. We know what we want and there is a process ongoing to hopefully get the right players in.”
