Brendan Rodgers enjoyed an outstanding start as the Celtic F.C boss, winning the treble in both of his first two seasons. However, this season has been more difficult, with Celtic tumbling out of the Champions League at the hands of AEK Athens.
Celtic out of the Champions League
Being out of the Champions League makes it harder for the club to keep hold of their star players and the saga with Dedryck Boyata that saw him miss the crucial Champions League play-off tie hasn’t helped. Boyata was keen on a move to Fulham but Celtic rejected a £9m bid from them for the defender.
Dembele could be on the way to Lyon
Another player that has been constantly linked with moves away from the club is striker Moussa Dembele. Although he has been missing through injury for much of last season, his form prior to that had caught the attention of a long list of clubs. It is understood that he is likely to complete a move to Lyon before the transfer deadline.
These situations have caused Rodgers to reflect on the situation at Celtic, saying: “Moussa is not a player we want to lose. He’s a phenomenal talent but he’s not going to be here forever.”
“Like a lot of the European boys, they develop at a great club and look to move on.”
Rodgers meets Gerrard in the Old Firm this weekend
Rodgers appears to have accepted the fact that players will look to leave the club once they get to a certain level. Rodgers comes up against his former captain at Liverpool at the weekend, as Steven Gerrard takes charge of his first Old Firm match for the Rangers. Gerrard is facing a similar battle to keep hold of his star striker Alfredo Morelos who has been linked with a move to Bordeaux.
Celtic vs Rangers on Sunday
Both teams take part in the Europa League Qualifying matches tonight. The Rangers take a 1-0 lead into their away match with FC Ufa and will be hoping that is enough to get them through to the next stage.
Celtic F.C takes on FK Suduva following their 1-1 draw in the first leg. Failure to qualify will be a very hard blow for Rodgers and there have been reports that he could leave the club if that does happen. After showing his frustration at the transfer situation in Scotland, it would not be surprising to see Rodgers take up a role back in England and there could be some vacant manager roles coming up in the next few weeks.
