Rodgers Agitated By Transfer Talk - But What Do Celtic Need To Do?

Brendan Rodgers said connected Thursday he was "hopeful" of adding to his Celtic squad.

Six days earlier, nan head had said location was "no news" erstwhile pressed connected nan chances of caller additions.

A week before, he had voiced vexation astir a deficiency of activity successful nan market.

It's understandable that nan Northern Irishman mightiness find nan changeless queries a small trying.

And his patience cracked successful nan aftermath of Friday's regular 4-1 Premier Sports Cup triumph complete Falkirk. "I don't know" was 1 repeated Rodgers' reply to questions successful a testy BBC Scotland interview.

As erstwhile Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner said connected Sportsound of his agitation and nan statement of questioning, "it's conscionable that clip of year".

The clip erstwhile windows are soon shutting. When Champions League play-offs are looming. When fans - and managers, possibly - want signings to bent their hopes connected for nan months ahead.

But really did nan speech unfold? What business person Celtic done truthful far? And wherever could they still usage immoderate caller faces?

BBC Scotland's Alasdair Lamont had interviewed Rodgers pre-match and reconvened pinch him afterwards.

Once nan chat astir nan triumph was done, talk turned to transfers and, successful particular, whether immoderate signings mightiness get successful clip for Wednesday's important sojourn of Kairat Almaty.

You've had to sanction a squad for nan Champions League deadline but you are allowed to sanction a further 2 players earlier nan game. Do you spot immoderate likelihood of location being players to adhd to that squad?

Rodgers: I don't know. I've conscionable travel retired present aft nan crippled truthful we'll hold and see. We've named nan squad and we'll hold and spot what happens earlier nan game. If not, that's nan squad we're going with.

Can you beryllium optimistic astir it? There must beryllium things successful nan pipeline that I conjecture that you deliberation could spell 1 measurement aliases another.

Rodgers: Okay, truthful fto maine repetition what I said. I've conscionable vanished nan game. I haven't told you thing earlier nan crippled and during nan 90-odd minutes of nan game.

"I don't cognize anything. I don't cognize anything. So location mightiness beryllium aliases location mightiness not be. So we person nan squad that we have.

Okay. Cheers Brendan.

Celtic person paid fees for 4 players this summertime - Benjamin Nygren from Nordsjaelland, Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata, Shin Yamada from Kawasaki Frontale and Callum Osmand from Fulham.

Nygren is nan only 1 who truthful acold looks for illustration a imaginable first choice.

However, pinch Jota retired injured until nan extremity of nan twelvemonth and Nicolas Kuhn sold to Como, that still leaves Celtic a winger down.

Rodgers is still looking to switch Kyogo Furuhashi, who was sold successful January, pinch chap Japan world Yamada truthful acold consigned to 2 half-hour appearances arsenic a substitute, while chap striker Osmand is playing for Celtic's B team.

Another 19-year-old, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, has yet to characteristic since arriving connected indebtedness from Manchester City, arsenic has chap centre-half Inamura.

Kieran Tierney was nan big-name presence connected a free from Arsenal, but pinch chap Scotland world Greg Taylor joining PAOK and Jeffrey Schlupp exiting aft his loan, Celtic are still short of left-back cover.

In a TV question and reply aft nan game, Rodgers was much phlegmatic, pointing retired that nan appraisal of Celtic's summertime business request not statesman until nan model closes precocious connected Monday, 1 September.

That's still complete 2 weeks away, truthful clip is still connected their side.

Bear successful mind that astatine this shape past season, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Luke McCowan had yet to get and Adam Idah was still holding a scarf supra his head.

"Of course, I would person loved to person had different players in," Rodgers said connected Premier Sports. "We request reinforcements, but I don't want to support harping connected astir it. I don't request to request for players that we need."

So who are those players? Or rather, successful what positions are Celtic short?

Bonner talked astir nan request to place screen for totemic skipper Callum McGregor successful midfield and his concerns astir a deficiency of options astatine left-back to easiness nan unit connected Tierney.

But his superior concerns dishonesty successful nan guardant areas.

"We still request to find a striker who puts nan shot successful nan backmost of nan net," he said.

"Johnny Kenny played coming and he didn't really person 1 connected target, moreover though location were tons of crosses. Shin Yamada came connected and didn't person arsenic galore opportunities to get connected nan extremity of things. Maybe it's conscionable nan measurement Celtic play.

"Have they sewage capable successful nan wide areas? They return disconnected James Forrest and put connected Nygren. He doesn't really play wide; he plays inside. So that's possibly thing other that still has to beryllium answered."